Booker through Boynton

BOOKER, GEORGE WILLIAM, lawyer, born in Patrick County, Virginia, 14 December, 1821; died in Martinsville, Virginia, 4 June, 1883. He studied law and taught school, soon after his admission to the bar became a justice of the peace in Henry County, and from 1857 till 1862 was the presiding justice of Henry County court. During the Civil War he was an unconditional union man. In 1865 he was elected to the house of delegates of the legislature of Virginia, and in 1868 received the nomination of state attorney-general. This office he resigned, and was elected as a conservative to Congress, where he served from 31 January, 1870, till 3 March, 1871. He was elected to the state legislature in November, 1873, and, after serving for two years, retired entirely from public life. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 315.


BOOKS. Regimental books to be kept, are: 1. General order book; 2. Regimental order book; 3. Letter book; 4. Index of Letters; 5. Size or descriptive book; 6. Monthly returns. Company books required are: 1. Descriptive book; 2. Clothing book; and 3. Order book. The following rules for keeping books at the head-quarters of the army and in the adjutant-general's office may, with modifications that will readily occur, be used with armies in the field, at the head-quarters of divisions, departments, regiments, &c.: (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, pp. 93-97).

1. LETTERS RECEIVED. (7 quires, demy-Russia, with spring back.)

1. All official communications received will be entered in this book, excepting only such letters of mere transmittal of orders, returns, certificates of disability, requisitions, &c., as need not be preserved. The orders, returns, certificates, requisitions, &c., themselves, will be appropriately entered in other books specially provided for the purpose.

2. Preliminary to being entered every letter will be folded and endorsed. Letter paper will be folded in three equal folds Cap paper in four. The endorsement will give the place and date of letter, name, and rank of writer, and a summary of its contents, and if other papers accompany the letter, the number transmitted will also be noted on the back, in red ink. Each enclosure will be numbered and bear the same office marks as the letter transmitting it. Figures A, b, c, exemplify the manner of endorsing.

3. Every letter required to be preserved will be entered alphabetically and numbered the series of numbers beginning and terminating with the year, and including all letters dated (whether received or not) within the year. Only one number will be given to each letter received with its enclosures, so that the sum of the numbers under each alphabetical entry in the book of “ Letters Received,” during any year, will show the number of letters received in that year.

4. As a general rule, every letter will be entered in the name of its writer; but there are cases where it is preferable, for convenience of reference, to enter it in the name of the person who forms the subject of the letter and not in that of the writer. Applications from citizens for the discharge of soldiers, &c., are of this nature. Usually, a single entry of each letter and its enclosures will suffice, but it may sometimes be necessary, in addition, to make entries in the names of one or more of the individuals to whom it relates. Such entries, however, will not be numbered, but merely contain the date of receipt, name of individual,

91 Fig. A. fig. c. G. 1 FORT ADAMS, E. I., i May 8, 1849.  Col., 3d Artillery, Com'd'g. Relative 'to unhealthiness of quarters at the Post, and enclosing Sur- on the subject, dated Apr. 30, 1849; forwards also a copy of a report, dated Aug. 16, 1840, of 1. 2. a Board of Officers as- G. 1. (Hd. Qrs.) G. 1. (Hd. Qrs.) assembled to examine into the condition of the May 11, 1849. May 11, 1849. quarters. [Two enclosures.] Rec'd (Hd. Qrs.) May 11, 1849.

place and date of the letter concerning him, with a reference, in red ink, to the number of that letter. Fig. E is an illustration of an entry of this kind.

5. The book of “ Letters Received “ will contain a side index extending throughout, and will be divided among the several letters of the alphabet according to the probable space required for entries under each letter. The book will be paged, and each page divided into three columns, headed “ When received,” “ Name,” “ Date and purport of letter,” respectively, as shown by figure Z, which also exhibits the entry in the book of the letter represented by figure A.

LETTERS RECEIVED. When received. Name. Date and purport of letter. May llth. [Surgeon -.] Fort Adams, R. I, May 8, 1849. See No. 1, Letter G.

Fig. D. LETTERS RECEIVED. 1849. When received. Name. Date and purport of letter. May llth. 1 Col., 3d Artillery, commanding. FORT ADAMS, R. I., May 8, 1849. Relative to unhealthiness of quarters at the Post, and enclosing Surgeon 's report on the subject, dated April 30, 1849; forwards also copy of a report, dated Aug. 16, 1840, of a Board of Officers assembled to examine into the condition of the quarters.

6. Each entry will be separated from the one preceding it by a red ink line; and where two or more letters relate to the same subject they will be either filed together, or made to refer to each other by their numbers, and the filing or reference be noted in the book as well as on the letters themselves.

7. Letters from the Executive and Staff Departments and other public offices in Washington, will be entered alphabetically in the names of the departments or offices themselves, but the entry will always exhibit the writers' names likewise; thus, communications from the War Department would be entered in the letter W, as follows: “ War, Secretary of, (Hon.,) &c.”

8. Communications from the President will be entered in the letter P from State Department, in S Treasury, T War, W Navy, and its bureau, N Post Office and its bureau, P Interior, / Attorney-general, A Adjutant-general's office, A Quartermaster-general, Q Subsistence, S Surgeon-general, S Paymaster-general, P Engineer Department, E Topographical Engineers, E Ordnance, Recruiting service, Superintendent of, R Pension Office, P Comptrollers, (1st and 2d,) C The several Auditors, A Treasurer U. S., T Commissioner Indian Affairs, / General Land Office, L Solicitor's Office, S and Patent Office, P.

9. Communications from Governors of States will be entered in the names of the States, the entry showing likewise the Governors' names; thus a letter from the Governor of New York would be entered in the letter N”, as follows: “ New York, Governor of, (His Excellency

10. Letters from Staff Officers, written by direction of their generals, will be entered in the names of the Generals themselves; thus a communication from General K 's Staff Officer would be entered in the letter K, as follows:

            “ Bvt. Major Gen'l -, Comd’g West'n Div'n,” “

                           (by Assist. Adjt. Gen'l ‘.)

11. Communications addressed to the War Department or Adjutant-general's office, and thence referred, without an accompanying letter, to head-quarters for report, or to be disposed of, will be entered, in the ordinary way, in the names of their writers, a note (in red ink) being simply made in the second column of the book, to show the fact of reference, thus “ (from A. G. O.)”

12. Where letters are referred from the office for report, &c., a note of the fact must be made (in red ink) in this book with a citation of the page, (or number of the letter,) in the “ Endorsement “ or “ Letter Book “ where the reference is recorded, thus Ref 'd for report to Comd'g Offi'r Fort T., May 11 see Book of “Endorsements,” p. 3, (or, “ see Letter No. 7, vol. 1st.”) When the communication is returned, a memorandum to this effect will be made in the book “Returned with report, May 25th.”

13. Should the portion of this book appropriated to any particular letter of the alphabet prove insufficient for entries under that letter, they will be transferred to a few of the last leaves allotted to some other letter of the alphabet, where there is more space than will probably be required. The fact of transfer will be noted in large characters, (in red ink,) at the bottom of the page from which transferred, and at the top of the page to which carried, as follows”

II. LETTER BOOK. (7 quires, demy-Russia, with spring back.) 1. Every letter recorded in this book is numbered, (in red ink,) the numbers commencing and terminating with the year, and each letter is separated from the one which follows it by a red line.

2. The address of all letters should be at the top, the surname being written conspicuously in the margin, followed by the official title (if any) and Christian name, thus: Bvt. Maj. Gen'l. Comd'g, &c., &c., &c., or Esq. Samuel H.

3. Each letter should be signed in the record book by its writer.

4. Whenever copies of letters are furnished, the names of the persons to whom they are sent should be noted in red ink in the margin with the date, when the last differs from the date of the letter itself. In like manner, when a letter is addressed to one officer, under cover to his commander, &c., this fact should also be noted in red ink in the margin.

5. The name of every person to whom a letter is addressed is indexed alphabetically, in black ink, and the names of the individuals whom it principally concerns are indexed in red ink. A red ink line is drawn in the body of the letter under the names so indexed, to facilitate a reference to them. In the margin, immediately under the name of the person to whom a letter is addressed, there are two references, above and below a short red line, the one above (in red) indicates the last preceding letter to the same individual, and the one below (in black) the next following. A detached index is used until the record book is full, when the names are arranged under each letter as in City Directories, and thus classified they are transferred to the permanent index attached to the record book.

III. GENERAL ORDERS. (7 quires, demy-Russia, with spring back.)

1. Every order recorded in this book should be signed by the staff officer whose signature was attached to the originals sent from the office, and each order should be separated from the one following by a red line.

2. The mode of numbering, distribution, and general form of orders are prescribed by the Regulations (see paragraphs 904, 905, and 908, edition of 1847;) but the distribution in each particular case should be noted in red ink in the margin to show that the Regulations have been complied with; and where orders are sent to one officer, under cover to his commander, (which course ought always to be pursued,) or furnished at a date subsequent to that of their issue these facts should likewise be added: where the order has been printed, it will be sufficient to write the word “printed” in red ink in the margin, to indicate that the widest circulation has been given to it.

3. There are two indexes attached to the book one of names, the other of subjects every order will be indexed in the latter immediately after being copied.

For names, a detached index will first be used until the record book is full, when they will be arranged under each letter as in City Directories, and thus classified, transferred to the permanent alphabetical index attached to the record book. Every proper name will be indexed and a red line drawn in the body of the order under it, to facilitate a reference to it.

IV. SPECIAL ORDERS. (7 quires, demy-Russia, with spring back.)


1. Every order recorded in this book should be signed by the staff officer whose signature was attached to the originals sent from the office, and each order should be separated from the one following by 9, red line.

2. The mode of numbering, distribution, and general form of orders are prescribed by the Regulations (see paragraphs 904, 905, and 908, edition of 1847 ;) but the distribution in each particular case should be noted in red ink in the margin, to show that the Regulations have been complied with; and where orders are sent to one officer, under cover to his commander, (which course ought always to be pursued,) or furnished at a date subsequent to that of their issue these facts should likewise be added.

3. There are two indexes attached to the book one of names, the other of subjects every order will be indexed in the latter immediately after being copied.

For names, a detached index will first be used until the record book Page 96 is full, when they will be arranged under each letter as in City Directories, and thus classified, transferred to the permanent alphabetical index attached to the record book. Every proper name will be indexed and a red line drawn in the body of the order under it, to facilitate a reference to it.

V. ENDORSEMENTS AND MEMORANDA. (5 quires, Cap Russia, with spring back.) 1. Every endorsement made on letters or other communications sent from the office will be copied in this book, and be signed by the staff officer whose signature was attached to the endorsement itself. A brief description of the communication sent out (the name of its writer, date, subject, and office marks) should precede the record of the endorsement, to render the latter intelligible; and where such communication has been entered in the book of “ letters received,” the disposition made of it should also be noted in that book, with a citation of the page where the endorsement is recorded. Should the communication be returned to head-quarters, a memorandum will be made to that effect, with the date when received back, in all the books where the fact of the reference from the office may have been noted.

2. In the case of such papers as proceedings of general courts-martial, certificates of disability for the discharge of soldiers, requisitions for ordnance, &c., which are not filed at head-quarters, but forwarded thence for deposit in other offices, it will generally suffice to make a brief memorandum of the general-in-chief's action upon them, instead of copying the endorsements. Where the endorsement, however, settles any rule or principle, it ought, of course, to be copied in full.

3. The name arid address of every officer to whom a communication is referred will be written in the margin, and all proper names, no matter in what connection employed, must be indexed.

4. The name of the person to whom a communication is sent will be indexed in black ink, and the names mentioned in the description prefixed to the endorsement on the communication, as well as in the endorsement itself, will be indexed in red ink. To facilitate a reference to these last names, a red line will be drawn under them. In the margin, immediately under the name of the person to whom a communication is addressed, there are two references, above and below a short red line; the one above (in red) indicates the last preceding reference to the same individual, and the one below (in black) the next following.

VI. BOOK OF RETURNS.

Besides the foregoing blank books of appropriate size according to circumstances, the following books of reference are necessary: HETZEL'S Military Laws; Army Regulations; Ordnance Manual; Artillery Manual; Prescribed Tactics for Infantry, Artillery, and Cavalry; McClelland’s Bayonet Exercise; Aide Memoire du Genie; Aide Memoire d’etat Major; WHEATON'S International Law; KENT'S or STORY'S Commentaries; MAHAN'S Field Fortifications; Military Dictionary.


BOOM is a chain of masts, or a large cable, or other obstacles stretched over a river for the protection of a military bridge which has been thrown across, or under the fire of fortifications to bar access within a harbor. (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, p. 97).


BOOMER, GEORGE BOARDMAN, soldier, born in Sutton, Massachusetts, 26 July, 1832; killed at Vicksburg, Mississippi, 22 May, 1863. He moved to St. Louis at an early age and became a bridge-builder. The town of Osage Rock, on Osage River, was laid out and partly built by him. He was present, as colonel of the 22d Missouri Volunteers, at the surrender of Island No. 10, and distinguished himself at the battle of Iuka, where he was severely wounded. He commanded the second Brigade of General Quinby's division of MacPherson's Corps at the battle of Champion Hills with conspicuous gallantry, and was recommended for promotion. While leading his brigade in an assault upon the works on the east side of the city of Vicksburg he was killed by a sharp-shooter. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 315.


BOONE COUNTY, MISSOURI, September 10, 1862. 9th Missouri State Militia and Merrill's Horse Detachment. The Union troops, under the command of General Guitar, met a body of the enemy at daylight, routed him, killing 4, wounding several, capturing 5 prisoners, 9 horses and mules, 16 guns, 200 pounds of lead, 15 pounds of powder and considerable camp equipage, etc. The Confederates fled in all directions through the thick brush under a murderous fire, and it is likely that their loss was greater than that reported.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 148.


BOONE COUNTY, MISSOURI, September 7-8, 1864. 1st Iowa Cavalry. A force of 200 men belonging to the 1st la. cavalry was divided into 3 squads and marched from Mexico, Missouri, into Boone county. At the county line the men were united for the encampment at night and separated the following morning. One squad soon came upon a camp of some 25 Confederates, routed them and scattered them in all directions, but without casualties on either side. That was on the morning of the 7th. The next day, the whole body of cavalry being divided into 2 columns and scouring the country between them, covering some 10 miles in extent, stirred up Captain Todd's company of guerrillas, numbering 50 men. A skirmish followed in which the guerrillas lost 4 or 5 wounded. 1 horse killed, 1 captured, and 14 guns. No Union loss was reported. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 148.


BOONE COURT HOUSE, WEST VIRGINIA, September 1, 1861. 1st Kentucky Volunteers.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 149.


BOONEVILLE, KENTUCKY, April 14, 1864. Citizens of Booneville. A party of Fred Gray's guerrillas, numbering 75 men, raided the town of Booneville. About 40 of the citizens hurriedly organized a company and thoroughly routed the raiders. The affair was reported to the department commander by Brigadier-General E. H. Hobson. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 149.


BOONEVILLE, MISSISSIPPI, May 30, 1862. 2nd Iowa and 2nd Michigan Cavalry. Colonel W. L. Elliott, in command of the cavalry brigade, left camp near Farmington at midnight, on the 27th, with instructions to proceed to the Mobile & Ohio railroad near Booneville and destroy it. About 2 o'clock on the morning of the 30th the command reached Booneville, after a circuitous route, via Iuka. Elliott found in and about the town some 2,000 sick and convalescent Confederate soldiers, with a guard of 700 infantry and 250 cavalry. The railroad depot was found to be filled with arms and ammunition, and a train loaded with both cannon and small arms, and a supply of ammunition, was standing on the track. After removing the sick to a safe distance Elliott ordered the train and depot both burned, and remained to see that the fire was not extinguished by the Confederates. More than 100,000 rounds of ammunition, several pieces of ordnance, with about 10,000 stand of small arms, were destroyed, the explosions being heard for two or three hours. The railroad was effectually destroyed on both sides of the town. The value of the property was estimated by Elliott to be from a quarter to a half million dollars. While the destruction was going on the movements of the Union forces were harassed by a detachment of Confederate cavalry. About 2,500 prisoners, including the sick, were taken, but as only about 40 or 50 were mounted, the rest were paroled for want of transportation. The Union loss was 1 killed, 2 wounded, and 6 missing.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 149.


BOONEVILLE, MISSISSIPPI, June 4, 1862. 2nd Iowa Cavalry. This was one of the skirmishes that occurred during the operations of Colonel Elliott's cavalry brigade in that vicinity. While on the march from Booneville to Blackland a considerable force of the enemy was found guarding the bridge over Twenty-Mile creek, about 8 miles from Booneville, with a section of artillery. The 2nd la. was in advance and at once engaged the Confederates in a sharp skirmish, which resulted in the withdrawal of the guns. The regiment then fell back to Booneville to "wait for the main body of the brigade before proceeding further. The Union loss was 3 killed and 9 wounded.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 149.


BOONEVILLE, MISSISSIPPI, June 11, 1862.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 149.


BOONEVILLE, MISSISSIPPI, July 1, 1862. 2nd Iowa and 2nd Michigan Cavalry. The two cavalry regiments engaged belonged to the 2nd brigade of Granger's division, and were under the command of Colonel P. H. Sheridan. Early on the morning of the 1st the pickets on the Blackland road were attacked and driven back by Chalmers' cavalry, numbering between 4,000 and 5,000 men. Sheridan hurried forward reinforcements and at the same time successfully directed a movement to turn the enemy's flank. Captain Alger, of the 2nd Michigan, gained their rear with four companies, and Lieutenant-Colonel Hatch of the 2nd la. took a position on the left of the Confederate position. Simultaneously the charge was made on the left and rear, the enemy became panic stricken and retired in disorder. Notwithstanding they outnumbered the Union forces more than four to one they were pursued for about 4 miles. The Union loss was 1 killed, 24 wounded, and 16 missing. The enemy's loss was much heavier, as the Union troops fought from cover most of the time while the Confederates occupied an open field. Over 50 Confederate dead and wounded were left on the field. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 149.


BOONESBORO, ARKANSAS, November 7, 1862.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 150.


BOONESBORO, ARKANSAS, November 28, 1862. (See Cane Hill.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 150.


BOONSBORO, MARYLAND, September 10, 1862. 3d Regiment, Potomac Home Brigade. Colonel S. W. Downey, commanding the regiment, encountered a large force of the enemy near Boonsboro while on a reconnaissance. He made a dash with a small cavalry detachment, which caused some confusion among the Confederates, but produced no decisive results. Casualties, if any, were not reported. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 150.


BOONSBORO, MARYLAND, September 14, 1862. (See South Mountain.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 150.


BOONSBORO, MARYLAND, September 15, 1862. (See Antietam.) Boonsboro, Maryland, July 7-8, 1863. 1st and 3d Divisions, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac. The only action on the 7th was the shelling of the Union rear-guard by the Confederate batteries. On the morning of the 8th the enemy was reported to be advancing in force on the Hagerstown road. General Buford ordered Colonel William Gamble, commanding the 1st brigade, to take a position on the ridge on the right of the road, about a mile and a half from the town, to check the advance and at the same time ordered part of the 2nd U. S. artillery to support Gamble's position. As the Confederates approached the artillery opened fire, which was promptly responded to by the Confederate batteries. A sharp skirmish then followed but Gamble maintained his position until the enemy worked around to his left toward the Williamsport pike, when he was ordered to fall back to Boonsboro. The enemy immediately occupied the ridge, placed some sharpshooters in a stone barn, commanding the road, and assumed the defensive. Generals Buford and Kilpatrick then went to the front to recapture the ridge. The first attempt was unsuccessful and Gamble was ordered to dismount a portion of his command and charge the woods. This drove the Confederates from their position and they were pursued for three miles, across Beaver creek, on the Williamsport or Funkstown road. At Williamsport Buford captured a small wagon train and about 40 mules. (For losses in this action see Funkstown, Maryland, July 10, 1863.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 150.


BOONVILLE, MISSOURI, June 17, 1861. Missouri Volunteers, Totten's Battery, and Three Companies of Infantry. The Union troops, under the command of Brigadier-General Nathaniel Lyon, of the U. S. Army, had gone to Jefferson City to engage the state troops led by Governor Jackson. Upon arriving at the capital Lyon was informed that Jackson had retreated in the direction of Boonville. Leaving three companies of Colonel Boernstein's regiment at Jefferson City he proceeded by boat up the river to within about 6 miles of Boonville, where he disembarked the greater part of his force, leaving one company of Blair's regiment and a small detachment of artillery to continue by water, while he, with about 1,700 men. marched against the town by land. When within 2 miles of the town Lyon found his further progress disputed by a body of state troops under the command of Colonel Marmaduke. The force of Marmaduke was not strong enough, however, to offer serious resistance, and after a short skirmish fell back to the town. The entire Confederate force there was then driven out and Lyon occupied the place. The Union loss was 2 killed, 9 wounded, and 15 missing, and the Confederate loss 25 killed, 50 wounded and 20 captured. This occurrence ended the power of Governor Jackson in the state. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 150.


BOONVILLE, MISSOURI, September 13, 1861. Missouri Home Guards. A body of home guards, commanded by Major Eppstein, was intrenched at Boonville, when the place was invested by a detachment of Price's army. Colonel Jeff C. Davis, of the 22nd Indiana infantry, commanding at Jefferson City, hurried 1,200 men to Eppstein's relief and the enemy gave up the contest. They had been expecting reinforcements from General Green, but Green was attacked by a detachment of Federal troops while crossing the river at Glasgow and was therefore unable to send assistance to Boonville. At Boonville the Union loss was 1 killed and 4 wounded; that of the enemy was 12 killed and 40 wounded. No casualties were reported on the Federal side at Glasgow, but a number of Confederates were known to have been killed.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 150-151.


BOONVILLE, MISSOURI, October 11-12, 1863. 9th Missouri. State Militia Cavalry. This was a trivial affair, consisting of desultory firing across the Missouri river at long range, the only casualty reported being the killing of a horse in the Union encampment by a shot from a Parrott gun.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 151.


BOONVILLE, MISSOURI, October 9, 1864. Missouri State Militia, Cavalry and Light Artillery, United States Volunteer Cavalry in pursuit of Price. The Confederates evacuated Jefferson City on the 8th and early the next morning the Union troops started in pursuit. The rear guard was overtaken before noon and skirmishing continued throughout the day. At Boonville the enemy made a stand and a sharp engagement ensued, though with slight losses on both sides.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 151.


BOONVILLE, MISSOURI, October 11-12, 1864. 2nd Arkansas Cavalry, and 6th Provisional Enrolled Missouri State Militia. The 2nd Arkansas and 6th Missouri cavalry, with 1 squadron of the 8th Missouri, were sent to the west of Boonville, on the Georgetown road to ascertain the movements of the enemy, drive in his pickets and learn if the main body had left Boonville for the west. About 3 miles south of Boonville the Arkansas troops under Colonel Phelps encountered a strong Confederate outpost and a fight was immediately commenced. The Missouri regiment hurried forward and the pickets were driven back toward the town, until reinforced by a section of artillery, when the Union forces retired beyond Saline creek, where they waited for the enemy to make some demonstration. At 5 o'clock the Federals again assumed the aggressive and drove the lines back until the artillery was again brought into service. Shortness of rations then compelled them to retire to California, Missouri, for a supply. The loss on each side was insignificant.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 151.

BOONVILLE, MISSOURI, May 3, 1865. 50th Wisconsin Infantry. Captain Arnold of the Wisconsin regiment attacked a party of bushwhackers in the act of crossing the Missouri river a few miles below Boonville, killing 3, wounding 2, and capturing 9 horses and their equipments. On the same day Captain Putnam, with 17 men of Captain Miller's company, followed a party of 9 men belonging to Weaver's company of guerrillas, who had crossed the river at a large island about 16 miles below Boonville. Two miles from the river he overtook them, when the bushwhackers abandoned their horses and took to the woods. Deeming his force insufficient to follow into the underbrush, Putnam returned, taking with him the 9 horses and the citizen who aided the Confederates to cross the river.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 151.


BOONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, April 10, 1865. 2nd Division, 14th Army Corps. In the campaign of the Carolinas the itinerary of the division for this date says: "Left Goldsboro for Raleigh, North Carolina Skirmished with the enemy from Boonville to Moccasin swamp; distance 6 miles." This is the only official mention of the occurrence.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 151.


BOORMAN, JAMES, 1783-1866, New York, merchant, philanthropist.  Vice President, 1838-1841, of the American Colonization Society.  (Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 316; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. I, Pt. 2, pp. 443-444; Staudenraus, P. J. The African Colonization Movement, 1816-1865. New York: Columbia University Press, 1961)

BOORMAN, James, merchant, born in Kent County, England, in 1783; died in New York City, 24 January, 1866. He accompanied his parents to the United States when about twelve years of age, was apprenticed to Divie Bethune, of New York, and entered into partnership with him in 1805. Afterward, in connection with John Johnston, he formed the firm of Boorman & Johnston, which almost entirely controlled the Dundee trade, and dealt largely in Swedish iron and Virginia tobacco. Mr. Boorman was one of the pioneers in the construction of the Hudson River Railroad, and was for many years its president. He was also one of the founders of the Bank of Commerce. He retired from active business in 1855. The institution for the blind, the Protestant half-orphan asylum, the Southern Aid Society, and the union theological seminary were among the recipients of his bounty. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I. pp. 316.

BOOTH, EDWIN, actor, born in Bel Air, Maryland, 13 November, 1833; died in New York, 7 June, 1893, was named Edwin Thomas, in compliment to his father's friends, Edwin Forrest and Thomas Flynn. When a boy he received instruction from different teachers near his home; but this tuition was neither continuous nor thorough. He was thoughtful and studious, and made much of his limited opportunities. He was reticent and singular, profound and sensitive, and the eccentric genius of the elder Booth found in him an object of peculiar sympathy. The father and son were fondly attached to each other from the first, and while Edwin was yet very young his father made a companion of him in professional journeys. It was in the course of one of these tours that Edwin Booth made his first regular appearance upon the stage, at the Boston Museum, on 10 September, 1849. The play was Cibber's version of Shakespeare's “Richard III.,” and the youth came forward in the little part of Tressil. At first the elder Booth opposed his son's choice of the stage, but ultimately he relinquished his opposition. The boy persevered, and presently, still acting in his father's train, he appeared at Providence, Rhode Island, at Philadelphia, and at other places, as Cassio in “Othello,” and as Wilford in “The Iron Chest” — the latter impersonation being deemed particularly good. Edwin Booth continued to act with his father for more than two years after the advent at the Boston Museum. His first appearance on the New York stage was on 27 September, 1850, at the National theatre, Chatham street, as Wilford. At the same theatre, in 1851, his father being ill, he suddenly and promptly took the place of the elder tragedian, and for the first time in his life enacted Richard III. This effort, remarkably successful for a comparative novice, was hailed as the indication of great talent and as the augury of a brilliant future. In the summer of 1852 he accompanied his father to San Francisco, where his elder brother, J. B. Booth, Jr., had already established himself as an actor and a theatrical manager, and where the three now acted in company. Other cities were visited by them, and the elder Booth remained in California for about three months. One night, at Sacramento, seeing Edwin dressed for Jaffier in “Venice Preserved,” he said to him: “You look like Hamlet; why don't you play it?” a remark that the younger Booth had good reason to remember, for no actor has ever played Hamlet so often or over so wide a range of territory. Just as the name of Junius Brutus Booth is inseparably associated with Richard III., so the name of Edwin Booth is inseparably associated with Hamlet. In October, 1852, the father and son parted for the last time. The California period of Edwin Booth's professional career lasted from the summer of 1852 till the autumn of 1856, and included a trip to Australia. The young actor at first played parts of all kinds, and he had a severe experience of poverty and hardship. Soon, however, he began to display uncommon merit, and thereupon to attract uncommon admiration. One of his earliest and best successes was obtained as Sir Edward Mortimer in “The Iron Chest.” For a time, indeed, he travelled in California, conveying his wardrobe for this piece in a trunk fashioned and painted to resemble a chest made of iron. His trip to Australia, in 1854, was made with a dramatic company that included the popular actress Miss Laura Keene as leading woman. Previous to this he had, in his brother's theatre at San Francisco, acted Richard III., Shylock, Macbeth, and Hamlet, had made an extraordinary impression, and acquired abundant local popularity. At this time his acting began to receive thoughtful attention from learned and critical authorities. He stopped and acted at the Sandwich Islands on his return voyage from Australia to San Francisco, and reappeared there at the Metropolitan theatre, then (1855) managed by Miss Catherine Sinclair (Mrs. Edwin Forrest, who had left her husband and obtained a divorce from him), and he was then and there the original representative in America of Raphael in “The Marble Heart.” In 1856 he took leave of California, being cheered on his way by several farewell testimonial benefits, organized and conducted by one of his earliest and best friends, Mr. M. P. Butler, of Sacramento, and his steps were now turned toward the cities of the east. He first appeared at the Front street theatre, Baltimore, and then made a rapid tour of all the large cities of the south, being everywhere well received. In April, 1857, he appeared at the Boston theatre as Sir Giles Overreach in “A New Way to Pay Old Debts,” and his great success on this occasion, always regarded by him as the turning-point in his career, determined him to persist in the resolute endeavor to win the first place as a tragic actor. His career since then has been marked by many vicissitudes of personal experience and by fluctuations of fortune, but it has been one of lofty endeavor and of continuous advancement. On 14 May, 1857, he came forward in New York, at Burton's Metropolitan theatre, as Richard III., and in the following August he was again seen there in a round of great characters, all of which he acted with brilliant ability and greatly to the public satisfaction. On 7 July, 1860, he married Miss Mary Devlin, of Troy, New York, an actress, whom he had met three years before at Richmond, Virginia, with whom he shortly afterward made a visit to England. Their only child, a daughter, Edwina, was born in Fulham, 9 December, 1861. After their return to America, Mrs. Booth, sinking under a sudden illness, died at Dorchester, Massachusetts, on 21 February, 1863. While in England, Booth appeared at the London Haymarket theatre, under the management of J. B. Buckstone, enacting Shylock, Sir Giles, and Richelieu. The latter part, with which, almost as much as with Hamlet, his name is identified, he had first assumed at Sacramento, Gal., in July, 1856. His performance of it was much admired in London, and also at Liverpool and Manchester, where he afterward acted. On returning to America, Booth soon became manager of the Winter Garden theatre, New York, which had been Burton's Metropolitan, but which Dion Boucicault had leased, refitted, and renamed. Here Booth appeared on 29 December, 1862, and with this house he was associated until 23 March, 1867, when it was destroyed by fire. A particular record of his proceedings at this theatre would make a volume. Here he effected magnificent productions of “Hamlet,” “Othello,” “The Merchant of Venice,” “Richelieu,” and other plays, and here he accomplished the remarkable achievement of running “Hamlet” for one hundred consecutive nights, an exploit that was commemorated by the public presentation to him, on 22 January, 1867, of a gold medal, suitably inscribed, and offered in behalf of leading citizens of New York. In recent days such an artistic feat would not be so difficult of accomplishment; at that time it was an extraordinary exploit. Booth's brother-in-law, the celebrated comedian John S. Clarke, was his partner in the management of the Winter Garden theatre, and they associated with themselves an old journalist and theatrical agent, William Stuart (real name, Edmund O'Flaherty), formerly of Galway, Ireland, but then an exile. Clarke & Booth were also associated in the management of the Walnut street theatre, Philadelphia, from the summer of 1863 till March, 1870, when the interest of the latter was purchased by the former. The hundred-night run of “Hamlet” extended from 21 November, 1864, till 24 March, 1865. On 23 April, 1864, for the benefit of the fund for erecting a Shakespeare monument in Central park, Booth produced “Romeo and Juliet,” and enacted Romeo. In April, 1865, an appalling tragedy compelled Edwin Booth to leave the stage, and it was then his wish and purpose never to return to it; but business obligations constrained him, and he appeared at the Winter Garden on 3 January, 1866, as Hamlet, and was received with acclamation by a great audience. “Richelieu” was revived that year, on 1 February, with much splendor of scenic attire. An equally fine revival was made, on 28 January, 1867, of “The Merchant of Venice.” On 23 March the theatre was burned down. On 8 April, 1868, the corner-stone was laid of Booth's theatre, at the south-east corner of 23d street and 6th avenue, New York, and on 3 February, 1869, Booth opened the new house with “Romeo and Juliet,” Romeo being played by himself and Juliet by Miss Mary McVicker. This lady was the daughter of Mrs. Runnion, who became the wife of James H. McVicker, of Chicago, a prominent actor and manager, and the child's name was changed from Runnion to McVicker. Booth married her on 7 June, 1869, and she died in New York, in 1881, leaving no children. Booth's theatre had a career of thirteen years, and its stage was adorned with some of the grandest pageants and graced by the presence of some of the most renowned actors that have been seen in this century. Its story, however, ended in May, 1882, when it was finally closed, its career ending with a performance of Juliet by Madame Modjeska. After this it was torn down, and a block of stores has been built upon its site. Booth's theatre was managed by Edwin Booth until the spring of 1874, when it passed out of his possession. During his reign therein as manager he accomplished sumptuous and noble revivals of “Romeo and Juliet,” “Othello,” “Hamlet,” “Richelieu,” “The Winter's Tale,” “Julius Cesar,” “Macbeth,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” “The Merchant of Venice,” “Brutus,” and other plays, and he presented on his stage a series of miscellaneous attractions of an equally reputable order. His stock company at one time included Lawrence Barrett, Edwin L. Davenport, J. W. Wallack, Jr., Mark Smith, Edwin Adams, A. W. Fenno, D. C. Anderson, D. W. Waller, Robert Pateman, Mrs. Emma Waller, Bella Pateman, and others — one of the ablest dramatic organizations ever formed in America. Among the stars who acted at his theatre were Joseph Jefferson, Kate Bateman, James H. Hackett, Charlotte Cushman, John S. Clarke, John E. Owens, and James H. McVicker. Booth's theatre was almost invariably a prosperous house; but it was not economically managed, and for this reason, and this alone, it eventually carried its owner into bankruptcy. Edwin Booth then began his career over again, and in course of time paid his debts and earned another fortune. In 1876 he made a tour of the south, which was in fact a triumphal progress. Thousands of spectators flocked to see him in every city that he visited. In San Francisco, where he acted for eight weeks, he drew upward of $96,000, a total of receipts till then unprecedented on the dramatic stage. In 1880, and again in 1882, he visited Great Britain, and he acted with brilliant success in London and other cities. He went into Germany in the autumn of 1882, and was there received with extraordinary enthusiasm. In 1883 he returned home and resumed his starring tours of America. Booth acted many parts in his day, but of late years his repertory had been limited to Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Othello, Iago, Wolsey, Richard III, Shylock, Richard II, Benedick, Petruchio, Richelieu, Payne's Brutus, Bertuccio (in “The Fool's Revenge,” by Tom Taylor), Ruy Blas, and Don Cæsar de Bazan. He published an edition of these plays, in fifteen volumes, the text cut and adapted by himself for stage use, with introductions and notes by William Winter (Boston, 1877-'8). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 318-320.


BOOTH, JUNIUS BRUTUS, actor, born in London, 1 May, 1796; died 3 November, 1852. His father, Richard Booth, the son of a silversmith of Bloomsbury, after studying law, having become imbued with republican ideas, embarked with a cousin to volunteer in the cause of American independence, but was taken prisoner and carried back to England. He practised his profession with success, lived in affluence in Bloomsbury, and was known as a scholar, but unpopular on account of his republicanism. It was one of his eccentricities to insist upon his friends paying reverence to a portrait of Washington in his drawing-room. Junius Brutus, the eldest son, received a classical education, essayed painting, sculpture, and poetry, was induced for a time to work in his father's office with a view of becoming a solicitor, and then, evincing a preference for naval life, was commissioned as a midshipman to Captain Blythe's brig “Boxer”; but, when that vessel was ordered to Nova Scotia, the father, unwilling that his son should serve against the United States, dissuaded him from joining the ship. After appearing as an amateur in a small London theatre, he announced his intention of becoming an actor, and, against his father's wishes, made an engagement, and played subordinate parts, in Peckham, Deptford, and in 1814 made a professional tour through Holland and Belgium. A few critics and influential friends, who recognized his talents, seconded his efforts to secure a London engagement; but he was forced to accept an offer to play in the Worthing and Brighton theatres for the season of 1815. He left there in October, having finally secured a contract with the management of Covent Garden theatre. But, as he was announced for inferior parts instead of for Richard III., he returned to Worthing, and gained a triumph as a substitute for Edmund Kean in the character of Sir Giles Overreach, captivating an audience that was at first indignant at the young actor's presumption. He continued to play at Worthing, and found influential admirers, who prevailed upon the manager, Harris, to give him a trial as Richard III. at Covent Garden, where he appeared in that character on 17 February, 1817, and delighted the metropolitan audience. Before the third performance, after a quarrel with the manager, he was induced by Kean, of the Drury lane Company, to enter into an engagement with the rival theatre, where he was announced to play Iago to Kean's Othello; but he soon learned with chagrin that in entrapping him into signing the articles Kean designed only to prevent rivalry by robbing the new favorite of the opportunity to appear in leading parts. Booth, when made aware of this, signed an agreement with the proprietors of Covent Garden theatre, who apprised him of legal flaws in the Drury lane contract. The town was divided into Boothites and Keanites, and Booth's reappearance at Covent Garden as Richard was the occasion of a riotous tumult, which was renewed on subsequent evenings. He played Richard and Sir Giles Overreach alternately, and then Posthumus in “Cymbeline,” appeared as Othello at Woolwich, afterward as Sir Edward Mortimer in “The Iron Chest” at Covent Garden, acted with applause, in July, 1818, at Glasgow and Edinburgh, strolled through the provinces, gave Shylock in the Jewish dialect at Covent Garden during the succeeding autumn, and in the winter entered into an engagement with the Coburg theatre, where he acted Richard, Horatius, and Brutus. In April, 1820, he appeared again at Covent Garden as Lear, which was recognized as one of his finest parts. In August, 1820, he performed with Kean at Drury lane, playing Iago, Edgar in “King Lear,” and Pierre. In the winter, while Kean was in the United States, he acted Lear, Cassius, and the part of an Indian chief at Drury lane theatre. On 18 January, 1821, Mr. Booth married Mary Anne Holmes, and after a wedding tour they sailed for the West Indies, but stopped at Madeira, and took passage thence for the United States, landing at Norfolk, Virginia, 30 June, 1821. On 6 July, Booth appeared in Richmond. His freedom from vanity and calculating self-interest was evinced in his sudden arrival unheralded in the United States. After a triumphant appearance in New York and in southern cities he seriously entertained the idea of retiring from the stage and spending his days in quiet as a light-house keeper. His first appearance in New York was at the Park theatre on 5 October, 1821. In the summer of 1822 he purchased, in Harford County, Maryland, twenty-five miles from Baltimore, a retreat in the midst of woods, to which he always afterward retired when not occupied on the stage, and where he carried on amateur farming with the help of a few slaves. Thither his father, the constant admirer of America, came the same year to pass his remaining days. In 1825 he again visited London with his family, and when the Royalty theatre was burned lost his entire wardrobe. After he returned to the United States he began an engagement at the Park theatre, New York, on 24 March, 1827, in which he acted Selim in the “Bride of Abydos” at his benefit. In June he appeared in the part of Pescara in “The Apostate,” a character written for him by Shiel. In 1828 he undertook the management of the Camp street theatre in New Orleans, and, while playing Richard III. to packed houses, studied French parts, and afterward personated characters in several French dramas, astonishing the audience with the purity of his accent and his familiarity with the peculiarities of French acting. The manager of the Théâtre d'Orléans persuaded him to take the part of Orestes in Racine's “Andromaque,” in which he greatly pleased the French-speaking public. In September, 1831, in New York, he played Pierre in “Venice Preserved,” and Othello to Forrest's Jaffier and Iago. The same year he took the lease of the Adelphi theatre in Baltimore. While his theatre was undergoing repairs he took the Holiday street theatre. During the season he appeared in several new characters, such as Roderick Dhu, Selim, Richard II., Penruddock, Falkland in “The Rivals,” and Luke in “Riches.” In January, 1832, he appeared in the Chestnut street theatre, Philadelphia, in “Sertorius,” a new play, by the Philadelphia lawyer, David Paul Brown. The death of two of his children robbed him for a time of his reason, and after his recovery an engagement, made with the actor Hamblin, for Richmond, was renewed for the Bowery theatre, New York. He next played in New Orleans and Mobile, and on a tour through the west, during which, and from that time forth, his mental disorder, slight attacks of which had occurred in earlier years, returned with increasing frequency and severity. As he grew older his partial insanity was aggravated by intemperance. After playing Shylock for eight nights to crowded houses at the National theatre, New York, and visiting Baltimore and Philadelphia, he sailed, in October, 1836, for Europe with his family, played Richard and Iago at Drury lane theatre, and in Birmingham, where he was prostrated with the news of the death of his favorite son, Henry Byron, in London, from small-pox. He immediately returned to the United States, and in the autumn of 1837 performed at the Olympic in New York, afterward sailed for the south on a professional tour, and during the voyage attempted suicide in a moment of aberration. On the same trip his nose was broken, impairing the beauty of his face and his rich tones of voice; but in the course of two years he regained the strength and scope of his vocal organs. During the last ten years of his life he spent much of his time with his family, residing in Baltimore, and only visiting his farm in the heat of summer. He played when and where he pleased, often in small, out-of-the-way theatres, but made annual visits to New Orleans and Boston, where he was an established favorite. In 1850 and the succeeding season he played at the National theatre, New York, and made his last appearance in that city on 19 September, 1851. In 1851 he performed several parts at the Chestnut street theatre, Philadelphia, and in the spring of 1852, with his son Edwin (Junius Brutus had previously gone thither), he went to California, playing to crowded houses in San Francisco with Edwin in companion characters. Leaving his sons, he returned to the east with the intention of retiring completely from the stage. Arriving at New Orleans in November, he performed six nights with his usual ability, but contracted a cold, and during his passage up the Mississippi River remained in his state-room, suffering from fever and dysentery, and died for lack of medical care. See Asia Booth Clarke's “The Elder and the Younger Booth” in the American Actor Series (Boston, 1882); Genest's “History of the Stage”; and “Booth Memorials,” by his daughter Asia (New York, 1866). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 317-318.


BOOTH, SHERMAN M., 1812-1904, Wisconsin, abolitionist leader, orator, politician, temperance activist.  Editor of anti-slavery newspaper, the Wisconsin Freeman, in Racine, Wisconsin.  Member, Free Soil Party, and helped found the Liberty Party.  Published Liberty Party newspaper, American Freedman.  Assisted runaway slave Joshua Glover.  Was arrested, tried and convicted for violation of Fugitive Slave Law.  Booth was acquitted under Wisconsin State law. (Blue, 2005, pp. 6-7, 13, 117-137, 267, 268; Rodriguez, 2007, pp. 62, 151; Minutes, Convention of the Liberty Party, June 14, 15, 1848, Buffalo, New York)


BOOTH'S RUN, CALIFORNIA, May 2, 1864. Detachment of Company E, 6th California Infantry. Lieutenant Taylor, commanding the detachment, found on May 1 a trail of hostile Indians near Kneeland's prairie. He sent 2 privates, Mills and Berry, to the trail, with instructions to wait for the wagon train from Humboldt and accompany it to the post at Camp Iaqua. At Booth's run the two men came upon the Indians and Private Mills was shot from ambush. Taylor, with the rest of his men, started in pursuit and came up with the Indians about sunset. Concluding it best to wait for daylight he attacked the camp early on the morning of the 2nd, killed 7, wounded 1, and captured 2 squaws and 2 children. The rest fled so precipitately that they left all their plunder behind, which was taken to the camp and turned over to Major Wright, commandant of the post.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 151-152.


BOOTY. (SAXON, bot, bote, lawful profit, gain, advantage, distinguished from plunder or pillage.) Despoiling a people or city is barbarous and not tolerated in civilized warfare, but legitimate subjects of booty are well described in an act of the British Parliament (2 William IV., c. 53): as arms, ammunition, -stores of war, goods, merchandise, and treasure belonging to the state or any public trading company of the enemy, and found in any of the fortresses or possessions, and all ships * and vessels in any road, river, haven, or creek belonging to any such fortress or possession. It should be the duty of commanding generals to cause an exact account of such captures to be kept, in order that the captors may be remunerated by the government for such stores as are reserved for the public service, and in order that all such prizes of war may be legally and equitably divided amongst the captors. Such is the practice in England. There land prizes are divided according to an established rule of division. In the Piedmontese army the administration of booty is intrusted to a special staff corps; the French laws (says Bardin, Dictionnaire de 1'Armee de Terre) are silent on this subject, or else those which are in force announce nothing positive; and in their silence, there is inhumanity, hypocrisy, and mental reserve. In a memorial presented by the Duke of Wellington he claimed of his government for the English army, more than a million sterling which had been used in the king's service from captures made by the British army in Spain and France, and the English budget of 1823 shows that the amount so claimed was given to the army. The 58th article for the government of the armies of the United States provides, that “ All public stores taken in the enemy's camp, towns, forts, or magazines, whether of artillery, ammunition, clothing, forage, or provisions, shall be secured for the service of the United States; for the neglect of which the commanding officer is to be answerable.” This article of war is borrowed from a corresponding British article, which directs that the same stores shall be secured for the king's service. But by proclamation in Great Britain the money value of all captures is invariably divided amongst the captors. No practice can be more wise and just, for although it is necessary to proscribe marauding or pillage, it is impossible to extirpate the desire of gain from the human heart, and it is therefore necessary that the law should frankly provide for an equitable distribution of captures amongst the army. The absence of a law of division tends to introduce into an army the greatest evils: soldiers disband themselves in search of pillage, and their cupidity leads to the greatest horrors. These great evils are avoided by a legal division of booty, when all soldiers, animated by the hope of sharing the fruits of victory, are careful not to abandon to the greedy, the cowardly, and the wicked amongst themselves advantages properly belonging to the gallant victors. In the hope that Congress may yet do justice to our army in respect to captures made in the war with Mexico, the rules established in Great Britain are annexed in a series of prize proclamations taken from Prendergast's Law Relating to Officers of the Army:  (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, p. ).

Prize Warrants. I

1. SCINDE BOOTY.

     VICTORIA R.

Victoria, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith, To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting: Whereas the Commissioners of our Treasury have represented unto us, that certain hostilities were carried on in the year 1843 against the Ameers of Scinde by our land forces and the land forces raised and paid by the East India Company, in which a portion of the Indus Flotilla co-operated: and that during the said hostilities certain battles were fought, and a quantity of booty and plunder captured or taken possession of, consisting of gold and silver bars and coins, of ornaments, jewels, and ornamented arms, and of guns, cattle, and other property, of which the following schedule or account has been rendered to our said commissioners, (that is to say,)

RUPEES. Paid in to the Public Treasury in Scinde)  AQQ on account of the articles sold, about Realized at Kurrachie ...... 17,743 Value of Silver 2,564,337 Gold sold 1,713,537 Gold remaining unsold, estimated at . . . 123,273 Lead, valued at 15,000

to which are to be added the sum due from the Government for articles

transferred to public departments, the sum due from individuals for articles sold in Scinde, and the sum which may be produced by the sale of the jewels, &c., which are at present in deposit at Bombay, but have been ordered to be sold;

And whereas it has been further represented unto us that the said booty and plunder do of right belong to us in virtue of our Royal prerogative, and that the said booty and plunder should be given and granted in such manner as to us may seem meet and just;

And whereas our said commissioners, under all the circumstances of this case, have recommended unto us to give and grant the said captured booty and plunder, or the produce or value thereof, as before stated, according to the following scheme, (that is to say:)

Such articles of personal use and ornament to be reserved for the Ameers as may be selected for that purpose by the Governor-general of India in council, with the approbation of the Commissioners of our Treasury;

The remaining property to be divided into sixths:

One-sixth to be given to all such of the troops stationed at, or between Shikarpoor, Seikkur, and Kurrachie, and all such of the Indus Flotilla stationed between Seikkur and Kurrachie on any day between the 17th of February and 24th of March, 1843, both included, as shall not be otherwise entitled to share in the booty;

The Major-general commanding in Scinde, and the officers of the general staff of the forces serving under*his orders in the above-mentioned operations, to share in this portion as well as in the other portions hereinafter specified.

The remaining five-sixths (subject to the deductions hereinafter specified) to be divided in two equal parts, one moiety to be given to the troops who fought at Meanee, and the other to those who fought at Hyderabad j the troops who were in both battles receiving a share of each moiety; and from the share or shares accruing to each individual under the distribution to be made of this portion of the booty there should be deducted and repaid into the Company's Treasury the amount of the Donation of Batta, which the individual entitled to the said share or shares has received under the general order of the Government of India, dated 28th of February, 1844, as having been present at the battles of Meanee or. Hyderabad;

And our said Commissioners likewise recommend that the troops under Lieutenant-colonel Outram, who were detached previously to the battle of Meanee, and directed to fire the Shikargah on upon the right flank of the army, as well as the detachment which so gallantly defended the British Residency on the 15th of February, and also such portion of the Indus Flotilla as was engaged in that defence, or co-operated with the detachment under Colonel Outram, or was in any other way in immediate connection with the army that achieved the victory of Meanee should share as if they had all been actually present at the battle of Meanee; and in like manner the garrison of Hyderabad should be entitled to share in the sum allotted to those engaged in the second battle; .

Now know ye that We, taking the premises into our Royal consideration, are graciously pleased to approve the said scheme, and do, with the advice and recommendation of our said Commissioners, by this our Royal Warrant, under our Royal sign-manual, give and grant the said captured booty and plunder, or the produce or value thereof as before stated, unto the Directors of the East India Company, or to such person or persons as they shall appoint to receive the same, upon the trust following, (that is to say,) upon trust, after making the reservations and deductions above stated, to distribute the remainder among our land forces, and the land forces of the said Company, and the officers and crews of the Indus Flotilla, engaged in the aforesaid hostilities in accordance with the scheme hereinbefore mentioned and set forth, and with the usage of the army of India;

And we are graciously pleased to order and direct that, in case any doubt shall arise respecting the claims to share in the distribution afore-said, or respecting any demand upon the said captured booty or plunder, the same shall be determined by the Directors of the East India Company, or by such person or persons to whom they shall refer the same, which determination thereupon made shall, with all convenient speed, be notified in writing to the Commissioners of our Treasury, and the same shall be final and conclusive to all intents and purposes, unless, within three months after the receipt thereof at the office of the Commissioners of our Treasury, We shall be graciously pleased otherwise to order, hereby reserving to ourselves to make such order therein as to us shall seem meet.

Given at our Court at Windsor Castle, this llth day of November, in the 9th year of our reign, and in the year of our Lord 1845.


                                    By Her Majesty's Command,

                                              (Signed) HENRY GOULBURN,

                                                             J. MILNES GASKELL,

                                                             WILLIAM CRIPPS.

2. TARRAGONA BOOTY.

(Conjunct Expedition of British Land and Sea forces.)

GEORGE R.

Whereas ordnance arms, stores, magazines, and other booty have been captured from the enemy during the year 1813, at Tarragona, by that part of the British army under Field-marshal the Duke of Wellington, in Spain, which was under the immediate orders of Lieutenant-general Lord William Bentinck, and by H.M.S. Malta, Fame, Invincible, Merope, Buzzard and Volcano, forming part of the fleet under Admiral Lord Exmouth then under the immediate orders of Admiral Sir Benjamin Hallowell, and appropriated to the public service; And whereas an Act passed in the 54th year of the reign of our late Royal Father, entitled an Act for regulating the payment of Army prize-money, and to provide for the payment of unclaimed and forfeited shares to Chelsea Hospital; And whereas application hath been made to us by the said F.M. the Duke of Wellington and Admiral Lord Exmouth to grant the sum of 31,531 lbs. (being the estimated value of such ordnance and stores) in trust, to be distributed as booty to the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates serving in that part of the British army under his command in Spain, which was under the immediate orders of Lieutenant-general Lord William Bentinck, and to the officers, non-commissioned officers, seamen, and marines, on board H.M.S. Malta, Fame, Invincible, Merope, Buzzard and Volcano, placed by Admiral Lord Exmouth under the immediate orders of Admiral Sir Benjamin Hallowell, at Tarragona; And whereas the said Field-marshal the Duke of Wellington, having expressed his wish not to participate in the distribution of the booty as Commander-in-chief of the British army serving in Spain; We, taking the same into our Royal consideration, are graciously pleased to give and grant, and do hereby give and grant, to the said Lieutenant-general Lord William Bentinck and Admiral Lord Viscount Exmouth the said sum of 31,531 lbs.; and that the said sum be issued and paid without any fee or other deduction whatsoever, in trust, for the benefit of the said Lord William Bentinck and the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates serving under him, and of Admiral Lord Viscount Exmouth, and the officers, non-commissioned officers, seamen, and marines actually on board of our before-mentioned ships employed in that service, as booty and prize, or bounty money in the nature of prize-money, under the provisions of the said Act passed in the 54th year of the reign of our late Royal Father, to be distributed under the provisions of the said Act of Parliament, and agreeably to our Proclamation for the distribution of prize, in force at the time of the said expedition, and this our Royal grant, in manner and in the several proportions following, (that is to say,) such sums being divided into eight equal parts:

To the said Lieut.-general Lord Wm. Bentinck, Admiral, Lord Viscount Exmouth, and such General Officers and Admirals under their command, who were actually present at the capture of the said booty, so that the said Lieut.-gen. Lord Wm. Bentinck and Admiral Lord Viscount Exmouth shall take one moiety, and the other General Officers and Admirals who were actually present at the capture of the said booty, the other moiety in equal proportions One-eighth.

To the Colonels, Lieut.-colonels, and Majors in the army, and Captains and Commanders in the navy, who were actually present at the capture of the said booty, to be equally distributed among them, and the persons entitled by the usage of our army to share with them Two-eighths.

To the Captains in the army and Lieutenants in the navy, and other description of persons entitled by the usage of our army and navy respectively to share with them One-eighth.

To the Lieutenants, Cornets, Ensigns, and Quartermasters in the army, and Warrant and other Officers in the navy, and other description of persons entitled by the usage of our army and navy to share with them One-eighth.

To the Sergeants in the army and Petty Officers in the navy, and other description of persons entitled by the usage of our army and navy respectively to share with them One-eighth.


To the Trumpeters and Soldiers, Seamen, and Marines, and other description of persons entitled by the usage of our army and navy respectively to share with them. Two-eighths

And we are further pleased to direct that all such respective sums of money shall be distributed as prize or bounty money, or money in the nature of prize-money, according to the provisions of the said Act of Parliament of the 54th year of the reign of our Royal Father, and the several Acts relating to the distribution of prize-money in our navy, and our said Proclamation, and this our grant, and the rules and customs heretofore used and observed in our army and navy respectively in that behalf, and the agents intrusted with the distribution thereof by f the said Lieutenant-general Lord William Bentinck and Admiral Lord Viscount Exmouth shall give all such notices, and make such notifications of such distribution, as are required by the said Act of Parliament and the several Acts of Parliament in force relating to the distribution of prize-money in our army, and our said Proclamation, and pay over all unclaimed shares to Chelsea and Greenwich Hospitals respectively, to be hereafter paid to the persons entitled thereto, or remain for the benefit of the said respective Hospitals according to the provisions and regulations of the said Act of Parliament and the several Bills in force relating to the distribution of prize-money in our navy; And We are further graciously pleased to order and direct that in case any doubt shall arise respecting the said distribution, or with respect to any other matter or thing relating thereto, the same shall be determined by the said commanders of the said land and sea forces, Lieutenant-general Lord William Bentinck and Admiral Lord Viscount Exmouth, or by such person or persons to whom the said commanders of the said land and sea forces shall refer the same; and such determination shall be final and conclusive upon all persons concerned, and as to all matters and things relating to the said distribution.

Given at our Court, at Carlton House, this 7th day of June, 1820, in the first year of our reign.

                                      By his Majesty's command,

                                                                  (Signed) BATHURST.

3. GENOA BOOTY.

(Conjunct Expedition of British and Allied Forces.)

In the name and on behalf of His Majesty,

      GEORGE P. R.

Whereas it has been represented to us that, at the capture of the Territory and City of Genoa and its dependencies, on the 18th of April, 1814, a quantity of ordnance, military and naval stores, ships and vessels, and other booty, being public property belonging to the enemies of the Crown of Great Britain, was seized and taken possession of by our sea and land forces, under the command of Vice-admiral Sir Edward Pellew, Bart, (now Lord Exmouth,) and Lieutenant-general Lord William Cavendish Bentinck, Knight of the Bath, commanding our naval and military forces in and upon the coasts of the Mediterranean, assisted by certain Sicilian and Italian troops, and troops in British pay, and has been condemned to us as good and lawful prize taken in the said conjunct expedition; And whereas no instructions were given by us for the division or distribution of the booty to be captured on the said conjunct expedition; And whereas application hath been made to us that we would be graciously pleased to order and direct that the same ordnance, military and naval stores, ships, vessels and other booty may be distributed between the officers and crews of our ships, and those of our Ally the King of the Two Sicilies, and the officers and men of our land forces, and those of our Ally the King of the Two Sicilies, according to any plan of distribution We shall be graciously pleased to approve: We, taking the premises into our Royal consideration, are graciously pleased to give and grant, and do hereby give and grant, to the said Vice-admiral Sir Edward Pellew (now Lord Exmouth), Commander-in-chief of our fleet and vessels employed on the said expedition, and Lieutenant-general Lord William Cavendish Bentinck, Knight of the Bath, Commander-in-chief of our land forces employed on the said expedition, the said ordnance, military and naval stores, ships, vessels, and other booty, so as aforesaid taken and condemned to us, in trust, to distribute the same amongst the commanders-in-chief, general and flag officers, and all other officers serving on the said expedition in the following manner, (that is to say), that the division of the booty between the army and navy and the said Sicilian and Italian ships and troops serving in the said expedition, shall be made according to the following scheme or schemes: the whole being first divided into equal parts:

1 To the Commanders-in-chief and to the Flag and General Officers serving in the said expedition, one-eighth, to be distributed amongst them, so that each Commander-in-chief shall take double that share which each General and Flag Officer (not being Commander-in-chief) shall take; but if the number of Flag and General Officers, exclusive of the two Commanders-in-chief, shall exceed four, in that case a moiety of the said one-eighth shall be divided between the two Commanders-in-chief, and the other moiety amongst the other Flag and General Officers One-eighth.

2 To the Colonels, Lieutenant-colonels, and Majors in the army, and Post Captains, and Masters and Commanders in the navy, and to the persons of like rank belonging to the said Sicilian and Italian ships and troops, to be equally distributed amongst them One-eighth.

3 To the Captains of Marines and land forces, and the sea Lieutenants, and other description of persons entitled by our Proclamation for the distribution of prize of the llth November, 1807, or by the usage of our army, to share with them, and to the persons in like rank belonging to the said Sicilian and Italian ships and troops One-eighth.

4 To the Lieutenants and Quartermasters of marines, and Lieutenants, Ensigns, and Quartermasters of land forces, and the Boatswains, Gunners, Pursers in' the navy, and other description of persons entitled by our said Proclamation or by the usage of our army, to share with them, and to the persons in like rank belonging to the said Sicilian and Italian ships and troops One-eighth.

5 To the Midshipmen, Captains' Clerks, Sergeants of marines and land forces, and the other description of persons entitled by our said Proclamation or by the usage of our army, to share with them, and to the persons in like rank belonging to the said Sicilian and Italian ships and troops One-eighth.

6 To the Trumpeters, Quarter-gunners, Seamen, Marines, arid Soldiers, and the other description of persons entitled by our said Proclamation, or by the usage of our army, to share with them, and to the persons in like rank belonging to the said Sicilian and Italian ships and troops One-eighth.

And that the portion of the said booty, so belonging to our said land forces employed on the said expedition, and the persons belonging to the said Sicilian and Italian troops, shall be distributed between the Commanders-in-chief, officers, and privates composing the same, according to the rule heretofore used and observed by the army, under the above scheme or schedule; And that the portion of the said booty so as aforesaid belonging to our naval forces employed in the said expedition, and the persons belonging to the said Sicilian and Italian ships, be distributed amongst the Commander-in-chief, flag and other officers, and men belonging to our navy employed on the said expedition, and the persons belonging to * the said Sicilian and Italian ships, agreeably to our Proclamation for the distribution of prize in force at the time of the said expedition. And we are graciously pleased to order and direct that, in case any doubt shall arise respecting the said distribution, or respecting any charge or demand upon the said captured property, the same shall be determined by the Commanders-in-chief, and flag and general officers, or such of them as can conveniently be assembled, or by such person or persons to whom they, or a majority of them, shall agree to refer the same; which determination so thereupon made, shall, with all convenient speed, be notified in writing to the Clerks of our Council, and the same shall be final and conclusive to all intents and purposes, unless within three months after the receipt thereof at our Council Office, we shall be pleased otherwise to order; hereby reserving to our self to make such orders therein as to us shall seem fit. Given at our Court at Carlton House, this second day of August, 1815, in the 55th year of our reign.

By command of H.R.H. the Prince Regent, in the name, and on the behalf of, His Majesty.

(Signed) BATHURST.

II. India Prize-Money.

The following is the present standing scale of distribution of prize-money in India, to European commissioned and non-commissioned officers, privates, &c. SHARES.

Commander-in-chief ..... 1/2 of the whole.

General Officers 1,500 Colonels 600 Lieut.-colonels, Adjutant-gen, and Quartermaster- general of Her Majesty's and the Hon. Company's troops, Commissary -general, Members of the Medical Board, Inspector of Hospitals of Her Majesty's Troops 360 Majors, Deputy Adjutant-general, and Deputy Quartermaster-general of Her Majesty's and the Hon. Company's Troops, Deputy Commissary-general, and Superintending Surgeons .... 240 Captains, Surgeons, Assistant Adjt.-general, and Assistant Quartermaster -general of Her Majesty's and the Hon. Company's Troops, Assistant Commissary-general, Deputy Assistant Adjutant-general, Quartermaster-general and Commissary-gen., Paymaster, Surgeon to His Excellency the Commander-in-chief, Brigade-majors, Aides-de-camp to His Excellency the Commander-in-chief and General Officers, and Commissaries of Ordnance . . 120 Lieutenants, Assistant-surgeons, Cornets, Ensigns, Adjutants and Quartermasters of Her Majesty's Dragoons and Infantry, Veterinary Surgeons, Deputy Commissaries, and Deputy Assistant Commissaries of Ordnance ...... 60 Conductors, Riding Masters, Apothecaries, Stewards, Sub-assistant and Veterinary Surgeons and Provost Martial 15 Sub-conductors, Assistant-apothecaries, Assistant-stewards, Regimental Sergeant-majors, Staff-brigade and Farrier-sergeants of Horse Artillery, Park Sergeant, Armorer, and Sergeants of Artillery . 3 Trumpet-majors, Paymaster-sergeants, Saddler-sergeants, Schoolmaster-sergeants, Hospital-sergeants, Drill-sergeants, Color-sergeants, Armorer-sergeants, Drum-majors, Brigade and Staff-sergeants of Foot Artillery, Magazine-sergeants, Laboratory-sergeants, and Sergeants ..... 2 SHARES. Fife-majors, Corporals, Bombardiers, Trumpeters, Farriers, Rough Riders, Gunners, Drummers, and Privates ........ 1 Volunteers ........ For the Royal Army there is no standing scale of distribution, though, by the foregoing Prize Warrants, it will be seen that a uniform practice is generally observed.

III. Prize Proclamation for the Russian War of 1854.

     VICTORIA R.

Whereas by our Royal Proclamation, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of March, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, We have ordered and directed that the net proceeds of all prizes taken during the present War with Russia, by any of our ships or vessels of war, after the same shall have been to us finally adjudged lawful prize, shall be for the entire benefit of the officers and crews of such ships and vessels of war (save as therein excepted), in which Proclamation We have directed in what proportion the land forces, doing duty as Marines } shall be entitled to share: And whereas in the said Proclamation We have reserved to ourselves the division and distribution of all prize and booty taken on any conjunct expedition of our ships and vessels of war with our army; and it is desirable that We should provide for the division and distribution of all prize and booty taken on such conjunct expedition, as also by our army alone: We therefore hereby order and direct, that in such cases the net proceeds of the share which shall be assigned by us to our army, under our Royal Sign Manual, shall be divided and distributed in the following manner and proportions, viz.: i One-fourth of One-

Commander of the Forces tenth part of the (net proceeds. General Officers:

1st Class. General Officers commanding Divisions, and other Officers, &c., holding equivalent Staff Appointments ......

2d Class. Other General Officers, and all other Officers, &c., holding equivalent Staff Appointments . Field Officers: 1st Class. Colonels, Lieutenant-colonels, and Brevet Lieutenant-colonels, and other Officers holding Staff Appointments equivalent thereto ....... 2d Class. Brevet Lieutenant-colonels not holding an Appointment qualifying them to share in the preceding Class of Field Officers, and all Majors, Regimental or Brevet, and all other Officers holding Appointments equivalent thereto , The remaining Three fourths of One-tenth part of the net proceeds; the same to be so divided that a General Officer, dec., of the 1st Class shall receive One-half more in amount than a General Officer, &c. , of the 2d Class. One-eighth of the remainder of the net proceeds; the same to be so divided that a Field Officer, d-c., of the 1st Class shall receive One-half more in amount than a Field Officer, &c. of the 2d Class.

The remainder of the net proceeds shall be distributed in the following Classes, so that every Officer, Non-commissioned Officer, &c., shall receive shares or a share according to his Class, as set forth in the following scale:

1st Class. Captains, and all other Officers entitled according to the usage of our army to share in that rank

2d Class. Subalterns, and all other Officers entitled according to the usage of our army to share in that rank Thirty-five Shares each. Twenty Shares each.3d Class. Sergeant majors, Quartermaster Sergeants, and all other Staff Sergeants, and others holding equivalent rank ...... 4th Class. Sergeants, and others holding equivalent rank ,... Shares each. 5th Class. Corporals .... Four Shares each. 6th Class. Private Soldiers, Trumpeters,) Drummers, &c ...Three Shares each.

And in the event of any difficulty arising with respect to the Class in which any Officer, &c., shall be entitled to share, our will arid pleasure is, that the same shall be determined and adjusted by the Commander- in-chief of our land forces for the time being.

Given at our Court at Buckingham Palace, this Eleventh day of August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty' four, and in the eighteenth year of our reign.

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN.


BORDEN, ENOCH R., journalist, born in 1823; died in Trenton, New Jersey, 16 May, 1870. For twenty years before his death he was editor of the “Daily State Gazette,” except while serving as aide-de-camp to General Newell and as Secretary to the New Jersey State Senate in 1865–’6. Under the administration of President Fillmore he held an appointment in the public document '' and afterward in the pension agency at Washington.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, p. 321.


BORDEN, GAIL, inventor, born in Norwich, New York, 6 November, 1801; died in Borden, Texas, 11 January, 1874. His parents were of New England descent, and in 1814 they emigrated from New York, settling in Covington, Kentucky, and later in Madison, then in the territory of Indiana. In 1822, finding his health impaired, he moved to Mississippi, where he taught, and also filled the positions of county surveyor and U.S. Deputy Surveyor. In 1829 he went to Texas. He was elected delegate to the convention that, in 1833, petitioned the Mexican government for separation, and he was also in charge of the official surveys of the colony, compiling the first topographical map of Texas. The and office at San Felipe was under his charge up to the time of the Mexican invasion. In 1835, with his brother, Thomas H., he established the “Telegraph and Texas Land Register” at San Felipe, which was afterward transferred to Houston, and was the first and only newspaper published in Texas during the war for the independence of that colony. After the establishment of the republic of Texas he was appointed by President Houston first collector of the port of Galveston. That city in 1837 had not been laid out, and its first surveys were made by him. From 1839 till 1857 he was agent of the Galveston City Company, a corporation owning several thousand acres of land on which the city is now built. About 1849 his attention was drawn to the need of more suitable supplies for emigrants crossing the plains, and after some experimenting he produced the “pemmican,” which Dr. Kane carried with him on his Arctic Expedition. The “meat biscuit,” the most simple, economical, and efficient form of portable concentrated food, was invented by him. This article gained for him the “great council medal” at the world's fair, London, 1852, and he was elected an honorary member of the London Society of Arts. Meeting with opposition from the army contractors, he was unsuccessful in the manufacture of his biscuit, and lost his entire means. He then moved to the north and turned his attention to the preservation of milk, and in 1853 applied for a patent for “producing concentrated sweet milk by evaporation in vacuo, the same having no sugar or other foreign matter mixed with it,” but failed of securing it until 1856. Later, the New York Condensed Milk Company was formed, and works were established at Brewster's Station, New York, and at Elgin, Illinois. During the Civil War his condensed milk was extensively used in the army and navy. Condensed meat-juices were then experimented upon, and he produced an extract of beef of superior quality, which at first he made in Elgin, but afterward established his factory at Borden, Texas. Later, he produced excellent preparations of condensed tea, coffee, and cocoa, and in 1862 patented a process by means of which the juice of fruit— such as apples, currants, and grapes—could be reduced to one seventh of its original bulk. Mr. Borden acquired great wealth from his patents, and was very liberal in the use of his money. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, p. 321.


BORDEN, SIMEON, inventor, born in Freetown now Fall River, Mass, 29 January 1598; died in Fall River, 28 October, 1856. He acquired a rudimentary education in the district school at Tiverton, L.I., and pursued by himself the study of geometry and applied mathematics. Without serving any apprenticeship, he made himself a thorough work-man in wood and metals. He also practised surveying with success, constructing his own compass. In 1828 he took charge of a machine-shop in Fall River. He devised and constructed, in 1830, an apparatus for measuring the base line of the trigonometrical survey of Massachusetts, which was found to be more accurate and convenient than any instrument of the kind then in existence. The apparatus, fifty feet in length, was enclosed in a tube, and was accompanied by four compound microscopes, the tube and microscopes being mounted on trestles, and adjusted so as to move in any desired direction. Mr. Borden assisted in fixing the base line, and in the subsequent triangulation in 1834 the state authorities appointed him superintendent of the survey, which he completed in 1841. This work, the first geodetic survey accomplished in America, is described in the ninth volume of the “American Philosophical Transactions.”  Its accuracy was subsequently established in the U. S. Coast Survey. Mr. Borden was employed as surveyor in the case of Rhode Island v. Massachusetts, tried before the U. S. supreme court in 1844. After the case was decided he surveyed and marked the boundary-line between the two states. He engaged later in the construction of railroads, and in 1851 published a volume entitled “A System of Useful Formulae, adapted to the Practical Operations of Locating and Constructing Railroads.” In 1851 he accomplished the engineering feat of stringing a telegraph wire, suspended on masts 220 feet high, across the Hudson River from the Palisades to Fort Washington a distance of more than a mile.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, p. 321.


BOREMAN, ARTHUR INGRAHAM, governor of West Virginia, born in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 24 July, 1823. While he was a child his father moved to western Virginia. He received a common-school education, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1845, and began practice at Parkersburg. He was elected to the Virginia house of delegates in 1855, and re-elected for each successive term until the beginning of the Civil War. He was a member of the extra session of the legislature in 1861, and a vigorous opponent of secession. Of the Wheeling Convention of unionists of the northwestern counties, called in June, 1861, for the purpose of reorganizing the government of Virginia, he was made president. In October, 1861, he was elected a judge of the circuit court, and in 1863 governor of the newly constituted state of West Virginia. He was twice re-elected, but during his third term of office resigned, as he had been elected to the U.S. Senate, in which he held a seat from 4 March, 1869, till 3 March, 1875.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 321-322.


BORGNE LAKE, LOUISIANA, November 22, 1863.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 152.


BORIE, ADOLPH E., Secretary of the Navy, born in Philadelphia in 1809; died there, 5 February, 1880. He was a descendant, on the mother's side, of a family of refugees from Santo Domingo, of whom a large number settled in Philadelphia. In 1826 he was graduated at the Pennsylvania University, and went to Paris to complete his education. After spending several years abroad he returned to the United States and entered upon mercantile pursuits, was for many years a member of the firm of McKean, Borie & Company, and acquired a large fortune in the East India trade. In 1862, when the first Union League of the country was formed in Philadelphia, Mr. Borie was one of its founders and its vice-president. He gave large sums toward the enlistment and care of soldiers during the Civil War, but took no part in politics. On 5 March, 1869, he became a member of the cabinet appointed by President Grant, as Secretary of the Navy, which office he resigned, 22 June, 1869. He accompanied General Grant during a part of his tour around the world in 1877-'8. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, p. 322.


BORLAND, SOLON, senator, born in Virginia; died in Texas, 31 January, 1864. He was educated in North Carolina, studied medicine, and settled as a physician in Little Rock, Ark. He served in the Mexican War as major in Yell's cavalry, and was taken prisoner with Major  Gaines in January, 1847. He was discharged when his troop was disbanded in June of that year, but continued in the service as volunteer aide-de-camp to General Worth during the remainder of the campaign from the battle of El Molino to the capture of the city of Mexico on 14 September, 1847. After his return to Arkansas, Mr. Borland was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator Ambrose H. Sevier, and subsequently elected by the legislature to serve through Mr. Sevier's unexpired term. After serving in the Senate from 24 April, 1848, till 3 March, 1853, he was appointed minister to Nicaragua, being also accredited to Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Salvador. He received his credentials, 18 April, 1853, and remained in Nicaragua till 17 April, 1854, when he returned home, and on 30 June resigned. At San Juan de Nicaragua, when he was returning to the United States, the authorities of the town attempted to arrest him in May, 1854, for interfering to prevent the arrest of a person charged with murder at Puntas Arenas. He took refuge in a hotel, and while he was engaged in protesting against arrest a man in the # threw a glass bottle and struck the envoy. This insult was the chief ground for the bombardment and destruction of Greytown, or San Juan de Nicaragua, by the sloop-of-war “Cyane,” under Commander Hollins, on 13 July, 1854, under instructions from the U. S. Government. President Pierce offered the post of governor of New Mexico to Mr. Borland after his return, but he declined the appointment and remained at Little Rock in the practice of his profession, taking no part in politics except occasionally to declare himself an adherent of the state-rights doctrines. In the spring of 1861, before the Ordinance of Secession, which was passed 6 May, he organized a body of troops, and, under the direction of Governor Rector, on 24 April at midnight, took possession of the buildings at Fort Smith an hour after the withdrawal of Captain Sturgis with the garrison. He raised the 3d Arkansas Confederate Cavalry and became colonel of that regiment, and was after- ward a brigadier-general in the same service. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, p. 322.


BOSTON, U. S. TRANSPORT, May 26, 1864. (See Chapman's Fort, South Carolina)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 152.


BOSTON MOUNTAINS, ARKANSAS, November 9, 1862. Boteler's Ford, Virginia, September 20, 1862. (See Blackford's Ford.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 152.


BOTTOM'S BRIDGE, VIRGINIA, May 19-23, 1862. 4th Army Corps. In General McClellan's advance on Richmond the 4th corps, commanded by Brigadier-General E. D. Keyes, struck the Chickahominy river at Bottom's bridge. On the 19th some of Casey's batteries threw a few shells to develop the enemy's position on the opposite side of the river. The next day a detachment of the 7th Massachusetts made a reconnaissance toward the bridge and was fired upon from the rifle-pits on the south bank, 1 man being wounded. On the same day General Barnard reconnoitered the river for some distance below the bridge, finding the stream well picketed at the crossings by the enemy. Keyes then ordered General Naglee to make a reconnaissance with his entire brigade on the 21st and ascertain the strength and position of the enemy at the railroad bridge a short distance above Bottom's bridge. Deploying his men behind the railroad embankment, his flanks well supported, Naglee advanced through a swamp, his men wading through water up to their waists at times and drove the pickets from the railroad bridge. In front of Bottom's bridge the brigade was subjected to a heavy fire, but General Casey sent 4 guns of Bailey's battery to its support, and a few well directed shots drove the enemy from the bank of the river. The next day the headquarters of the army were removed to Cold Harbor, and on the 23d Naglee, and Colonel Gregg, with the 8th Pennsylvania, cavalry, made reconnaissances on the roads leading from Bottom's bridge to within 10 miles of Richmond. Gregg encountered a regiment of infantry and about 400 cavalry and after a sharp skirmish routed them, but would not pursue for fear of being led into an ambush in the woods through which the enemy retreated.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 152.


BOTTOM'S BRIDGE, VIRGINIA, July 2, 1863. (See Baltimore Cross-Roads.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 152.


BOTTOM'S BRIDGE, VIRGINIA, August 27, 1863. 1st New York Mounted Rifles and 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry. The expedition, consisting of about 900 men of the two regiments, under the command of Colonel B. F. Onderdonk, left Williamsburg shortly after noon on the 26th, its purpose being to learn the strength of the enemy along the Chickahominy river. After slight skirmishes with the enemy at Hall's farm, Slatersville, New Kent Court House, Baltimore Store and Crump's cross-roads the expedition reached Bottom's bridge on the 27th to find it guarded by a considerable force of Confederates in rifle-pits. Dismounting part of his men and deploying them as skirmishers, Onderdonk drove the men out of the pits and across the river to a stronger earthwork, guarded by a force of infantry and a squadron of cavalry. By this time it was dark and having learned the approximate strength of the Confederates along the river, and that the main body was only 2 miles below the bridge, Onderdonk withdrew to Baltimore Store and bivouacked for the night. (For losses see Slatersville, Virginia, August 28.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 152.


BOTTOM'S BRIDGE, VIRGINIA, February 7. 1864. 4,000 Infantry, 2,200 Cavalry, Hunt's and Belger's Batteries. This was an expedition planned by General B. F. Butler, and placed under the command of Brigadier-General I. J. Wistar, the object being the surprise and capture of Richmond and the liberation of Union prisoners there. For two months prior to this time there had been no guard at Bottom's bridge and the aim was to reach that point at 3 o'clock on Sunday morning, February 7, and from there make a rapid march into the Confederate capital before resistance could be organized. The undertaking failed because of one of those unforeseen events that sway the destinies of mankind. Private William Boyle, who was under sentence of death for the murder of a lieutenant, was allowed to escape on the 3d. He made his way to Richmond and gave the Confederates information of the proposed attack. Consequently when Wistar reached Bottom's bridge on the morning of the 7th he found it guarded by a strong force of infantry, cavalry and artillery. The floor had been torn from the bridge and both fords in the immediate neighborhood were strongly guarded. Major Whelan, of the New York mounted rifles, made a gallant charge on one of the fords but was repulsed. Realizing that the expedition had failed of its purpose, Wistar withdrew with a loss of 9 men and 10 horses killed, being harassed on his retreat by the enemy.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 153.


BOTT'S FARM, MISSOURI, July 24, 1862. 3d Iowa Cavalry.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 153.


BOTTS, JOHN MINOR, statesman, born in Dumfries, Prince William County, Virginia, 16 September, 1802; died in Culpepper, Virginia, 7 January, 1869. Soon after his birth his parents moved to Fredericksburg, and thence to Richmond, where they perished in the great theatre fire in 1811. Young Botts received a good education, began early to read law, and was admitted to the bar at the age of eighteen. After he had practised for six years he retired to a farm in Henrico County, and established himself as a gentleman farmer. In 1833 he was elected as a Whig to represent his county in the legislature, where he at once became prominent, and several times reelected. In 1839 he was elected to Congress, and there stood earnestly and ably by Henry Clay, zealously advocating most of the points of the leader's programme, including a national  protective tariff, and the distribution among the states of the proceeds of the public lands. He was one of the few southern members that supported John Quincy Adams in his contest against the regulations of the house infringing the right of petition, adopted by the majority in order to exclude appeals from the abolitionists. After serving two terms, from 2 December, 1839, till 3 March, 1843, he was defeated by Mr. Seddon, but in 1847 re-elected, and sat from 6 December, 1847, till 3 March, 1849. In 1839 he was a delegate to the national Whig Convention, which nominated Harrison and Tyler. He had been a warm personal friend of John Tyler, elected vice-president in November, 1840, and who, by the death of General Harrison, in April, 1841, became president of the United States; but, soon after Mr. Tyler's accession to office, Mr. Botts, in a conversation with him, learned his intention of seceding from the party that had elected him, and he at once denounced him, and opposed him as long as he was president. In the campaign of 1844 he labored earnestly for the election of Mr. Clay. In 1852 Mr. Botts resumed the practice of his profession in Richmond. He earnestly opposed the repeal of the Missouri compromise in 1854, and was in sympathy with those southern representatives who resisted the passage, in 1858, of the bill admitting Kansas as a state under the Lecompton constitution. On the disruption of the Whig Party, he joined the American Party, and in 1859 an attempt was made by that political organization to nominate him for the presidency. He continued his practice, and remained in Richmond till the beginning of the Civil War; but, being devoted to the union, and having used all his efforts, without avail, to prevent Virginia from seceding, he retired to his farm near Culpepper Court-House, where he remained most of the time during the war, respected by the secessionists yet subjected to a great  of trial and inconvenience. One night, in March, 1862, a squad of a hundred men, under the orders of General Winder, came to his house, took him from his bed, and carried him to prison, where he was held in solitary confinement for eight weeks. His arrest was caused by the well-founded suspicion that he was writing a secret history of the war. Search was made for the manuscript, but nothing was found. After the close of the war, this missing manuscript, of which a portion had been, in 1862, confided to the Count de Mercier.   French minister at Washington, formed the basis of a volume prepared by Mr. Botts, “The Great Rebellion, its Secret History, Rise, Progress, and Disastrous Failure!” (New York 1866). After his release from prison Mr. Botts returned to his home at Culpepper, where he was continually by the enemy. His farm was repeatedly overrun by both armies, and dug over at various times for military operations. When the war had closed, Mr. Botts again took a deep interest in political matters. He labored earnestly for the early restoration of his state to the union, but without success. He was a delegate to the National Convention of Southern Loyalists in Philadelphia in 1866, and in 1867 signed his name on the bail-bond of Jefferson Davis. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 325-326.


BOUGH'S FORD, ALABAMA, November 9-11, 1864. 2nd Brigade, 5th Cavalry Division, Military Division of the Mississippi. Brigadier-General Hatch ordered Colonel Coon to make a demonstration with his brigade at Bough's ford across Shoal creek on the 9th, but the stream was found too high to ford, and another demonstration was ordered on the 11th. This time Major Horton, commanding the 2nd la., found a ford about a quarter of a mile below the main crossing and sent over the 1st battalion under Major Schnitzer, when the banks became so miry that it was deemed unsafe to try to cross any more troops. Coon then ordered Schnitzer's recall, and directed Horton to dismount the rest of his men and push them up to the bank of the creek to cover Schnitzer's retreat. Meantime the enemy was keeping up an incessant fire from a barricade on the bluff about 300 yards distant. Captain Blackburn, with a detachment of the 9th Illinois, crossed the creek above the mill and made a flank movement to the right of this position, driving in the pickets, which threw the enemy into such consternation that Schnitzer was enabled to recross the stream. No losses reported.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 153.


BOUNTY. “Every able-bodied musician or soldier, re-enlisting m his company or regiment within two months before, or one month after the expiration of his term of service, shall receive two months' extra pay, besides the pay and allowances due him on account of the unexpired period of his enlistment; “ (Act March 2, 1833.) Bounty lands have also been given by Congress for military service. The principal characteristic of those acts has been to reward alike all grades, and to make no distinction of service, except by granting forty acres for the minimum degree of service, and one hundred and sixty acres for the maximum of service. A very marked and utterly indefensible departure from the principle upon which such rewards of merit and services were made by the several States immediately after the Revolutionary War.


BOURNE, GEORGE, 1780-1845, New York City, English-born, author.  Presbyterian and Dutch Reform clergyman. Pioneer abolitionist leader.  Manager (1833-1839) and founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society, December 1833.  Founding member of the New York Anti-Slavery Society.  One of the first abolitionists to demand immediate emancipation.  Wrote The Book of Slavery Irreconcilable (1816); An Address to the Presbyterian Church, Enforcing the Duty of Excluding all Slaveholders from the Communion of Saints; and Man Stealing and Slavery Denounced by the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches. (Dumond, 1961, pp. 93, 175, 348; Mason, 2006, pp. 79, 100, 132-133, 231-232, 285n75; Rodriguez, 2007, pp. 34, 105; Abolitionist, Vol. I, No. XII, December, 1833; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 330; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. I, Pt. 2, p. 485; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 2, p. 254)

BOURNE, George, author, born in England about 1760; died in New York City in 1845. He was educated in his native country, emigrated to the United States, and became a minister of the reformed Dutch Church in 1833. He held no pastorate, but engaged in literary work in New York City. He was an ardent and learned controversialist, and wrote works on Romanism and slavery. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I. pp. 330.


BOUTTE STATION, LOUISIANA, September 4, 1862. Detachment of the 8th Vermont Infantry. On this date Captain Hall, commanding the Federal outposts at Bayou des Allemands, despatched Captain Clark of Company K, 8th Vermont, with a detail of infantry and a 12-pounder howitzer manned by 12 men on a train of cars to meet and protect the upper train which was supposed to be without escort. At a point nearly opposite Boutte Station, the train was fired into by about 1,000 mounted Texas rangers under Colonel Waller. The artillerymen and many of the infantry, who were riding on open cars, were killed or wounded. The Confederates had opened a switch leading to a side-track, on which the train collided with an empty passenger car with such force as to hurl many men from the platform cars to the ground, but went on at reduced speed. One of the soldiers hurried to the forward end of the switch and adjusted it so that the train ran out upon the main track instead of into the ditch as the Confederates had planned. Clark soon met the upper train, but, deeming it unwise to try to pass so large a force, ran both trains to Algiers. The Confederates robbed the dead, the dying and the wounded, slashed disabled men in their heads with sabers and in other ways treated them outrageously, then moved on toward the bayou. Halting, they raised a flag of truce and Hall sent some men to learn its import. The latter did not return, and he sent others to inquire concerning them. Both parties were seized and placed in front of the Confederate column and obliged to march toward the bayou. Confronted by a greatly superior force and obliged to fire at his own men, if he fired at all, Hall surrendered. Casualties—killed 9; wounded and missing 182.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 153-154.


BOUTWELL, GEORGE SEWALL, 1818-1905, statesman, lawyer.  20th Governor of Massachusetts.  Helped organize the Republican Party.  Member of Congress, 1862-1868.  Member of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senator.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.  Secretary of the Treasury under President Ulysses S. Grant.  Supported African American citizenship and voting rights during Reconstruction.  Important leader serving on the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, which framed the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution. (Appletons’, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 331-332; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 1, Pt. 2, pp. 489-490; Congressional Globe; Wilson, Henry, History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America, Vol. 2.  Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1872, 348)

BOUTWELL, George Sewall, statesman, born in Brookline, Massachusetts, 28 January, 1818. His early life was spent on his father's farm until, in 1835, he became a merchant's clerk in Groton, Massachusetts He was afterward admitted to partnership, and remained in business there until 1855. In 1836 he began by himself to study law, and was admitted to the bar, but did not enter into active practice for many years. He also began a course of reading, by which he hoped to make up for his want of a college education. He entered politics as a supporter of Van Buren in 1840, and between 1842 and 1851 was seven times chosen as a Democrat to the state legislature, where he soon became recognized as the leader of his party. In 1844, 1846, and 1848 he was defeated as a candidate for Congress, and in 1849 and 1850 he was the Democratic nominee for governor with no better success; but he was finally elected in 1851 and again in 1852 by a coalition with the Free-Soil Party. In 1849-'50 he was state bank commissioner; in 1853 a member of the state constitutional convention. After the repeal of the Missouri compromise in 1854 he assisted in organizing the Democratic Party, with which he has since acted. In 1860 he was a member of the Chicago Convention which nominated Lincoln, and in February, 1861, was a delegate to the Washington peace conference. President Lincoln invited him to organize the new department of internal revenue in 1862, and he was its first commissioner, serving from July, 1862, till March, 1863. In 1862 he was chosen a member of Congress from Massachusetts, and twice re-elected. In February, 1868, he made a speech advocating the impeachment of President Johnson, was chosen chairman of the committee appointed to report articles of impeachment, and became one of the seven managers of the trial. In March, 1869, he entered President Grant's cabinet as secretary of the treasury, where he opposed diminution of taxation and favored a large reduction of the national debt. In 1870 Congress, at his recommendation, passed an act providing for the funding of the national debt and authorizing the selling of certain bonds, but not an increase of the debt. Secretary Boutwell attempted to do this by means of a syndicate, but expended more than half of one per cent., in which he was accused of violating the law. The house Committee of ways and means afterward absolved him from this charge. In March, 1873, he resigned and took his seat as a U. S. Senator from Massachusetts, having been chosen to fill the vacancy caused by the election of Henry Wilson to the vice-presidency. In 1877 he was appointed by President Hayes to codify and edit the statutes at large. Mr. Boutwell was for six years an overseer of Harvard, and for five years secretary of the Massachusetts state board of education, preparing the elaborate reports of that body. He afterward opened a law office in Washington, D. C. He is the author of “Educational Topics and Institutions” (Boston, 1859); a “Manual of the United States Direct and Revenue Tax” (1863); “Decisions on the Tax Law” (New York, 1863); “Tax-Payer's Manual” (Boston, 1865); a volume of “Speeches and Papers” (1867); and “Why I am a Republican” (Hartford, Connecticut, 1884). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I. pp. 331-332.


BOWDITCH, HENRY INGERSOLL, 1819-1909, Boston, lawyer, abolitionist, physician.  Influenced by William Lloyd Garrison to join the anti-slavery cause.  Aided fugitive slaves, and promoted anti-slavery actions in the North.  Counsellor, 1843-1850, and Vice president, 1850-1860, Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society.  (Mabee, 1970, pp. 36, 94, 103, 110, 129, 336; Pease, 1965, pp. 343-348; Bowditch, Slavery and the Constitution, Boston: Robert F. Walcutt, 1849, pp. 120-126; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 1, Pt. 2, pp. 492-494; American Reformers: An H.W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary, New York, 1985, pp. 103-104; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 2, p. 267; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 334)

BOWDITCH, Henry Ingersoll, physician, born in Salem, Massachusetts, 9 August, 1808, was graduated at Harvard in 1828, took his medical degree there in 1832, and studied in Paris from 1833 to 1835. He was professor of clinical medicine at Harvard from 1859 till 1867, chairman of the state board of health (1869-'79), and member of the national board in the latter year, surgeon of enrollment during the Civil War, president of the American Medical association in 1877, and physician at the Massachusetts general hospital and the Boston City hospital, where he served from 1868 to 1872. To Dr. Bowditch is due the discovery of the law of soil moisture as a potent cause of consumption in New England. He has also proved to the medical profession of this country and Europe that thoracentesis, in pleural effusions, if performed with Wyman's fine trocars and suction-pump, is not only innocuous; but at times saves life or gives great relief. Dr. Bowditch was made an abolitionist by the mobbing of Garrison in 1835, and worked earnestly in the anti-slavery cause. “He was the first in Boston,” says Frederick Douglas, “to treat me as a man.” He is the author of “Life of Nathaniel Bowditch, for the Young” (1841); “The Young Stethoscopist” (Boston, 1846; 2d ed., New York, 1848); “Life of Lieutenant Nathaniel Bowditch” (50 copies, printed privately, 1865); “Public Hygiene in America,” a centennial address at Philadelphia in 1876, and many articles in medical journals and papers read before the State board of health (1870-'8). He has translated “Louis on Typhoid” (2 vols., Boston, 1836); “Louis on Phthisis” (1836); and “Maunoir on Cataract” (1837). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I. pp. 334.


BOWDITCH, WILLIAM I., Boston, Massachusetts, abolitionist.  American Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1852-56, Treasurer, 1862-64, Executive Committee, 1863-64.


BOWDEN, LEMUEL JACKSON, senator, born in Williamsburg, Virginia, 16 January, 1815; died in Washington, D.C., 2 January, 1864. He was graduated at William and Mary, was admitted to the Virginia Bar, and became prominent in his profession. He was three times chosen to the state legislature, was a member of the state constitutional conventions of 1849 and 1851, and was a presidential elector in 1860. When the Civil War began he remained true to the union, and in the early part of the war his estate suffered much at the hands of the Confederate Army. When the national troops were at Williamsburg he did a great deal for their comfort, and when a state government was organized for eastern Virginia, in 1863, Mr. Bowden was chosen U.S. Senator.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, p. 333.


BOWEN, JAMES, soldier, born in New York City in 1808; died in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, 29 September, 1886. His father, a successful merchant, left him an ample fortune. He was the first president of the Erie Railway, and held that office for several years. He was a member of the legislature in 1848 and 1849, and president of the first board of police commissioners under the law of 1855, establishing the present metropolitan police force. At the beginning of the Civil War he raised six or seven regiments, which were formed into a brigade, and took command of them, receiving his commission as brigadier-general of volunteers, 11 October, 1862. After General Butler had left New Orleans, General Bowen went there, and served as provost-marshal general of the Department of the Gulf. He resigned on 27 July, 1864, and on 13 March, 1865, was brevetted major-general of volunteers. His last public office was that of commissioner of charities, to which he was appointed by Mayor Havemeyer, and continued to most acceptably for many years. General Bowen was a member of the Union club, and of the Kent club, where he was an associate of Moses H. Grinnell, Richard M. Blatchford, James Watson Webb, and Thurlow Weed, and was valued for his sound views on literature. These gentlemen were all intimate friends of Daniel Webster. It is related that while Mr. Webster was Secretary of State, General Bowen, at one of his dinners, said: “I want you to do me a favor, Mr. Webster,” to which Webster replied, “To the half of my kingdom.” General Bowen was also an intimate friend of William H. Seward, and a pall-bearer at his funeral. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 336.


BOWEN, JOHN S., soldier, born in Georgia in 1829; died in Raymond, Mississippi, 13 July, 1863. He was graduated at West Point in 1853, and became lieutenant of mounted rifles, serving at the Carlisle, Pennsylvania, cavalry school, and on the frontier. On 1 May, 1856, he resigned and became an architect in Savannah, Georgia, where he was also lieutenant colonel of state militia. He moved his office to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1857, where he was captain in the Missouri militia from 1859 till 1861. He was adjutant to General Frost during the expedition to the border in search of Montgomery, and, when the Civil War began, commanded the second regiment of Frost's brigade. He was acting chief of staff to General Frost when Camp Jackson was captured by General Lyon, and afterward, disregarding his parole, raised at Memphis the 1st Missouri Infantry. He was severely wounded at the battle of Shiloh, where he commanded a brigade in Breckinridge's corps, and stubbornly resisted Grant's advance near Port Gibson in May, 1863. He was in all the battles around Vicksburg, and took a prominent part in the negotiations for its surrender, and his death is said to have been hastened by mortification at that event. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 336.


BOWEN, OZIAS, anti-slavery  judge, Ohio, freed slaves in court case in 1856. (Dumond, 1961, p. 317)


BOWEN, THOMAS M., senator, born in Iowa, near the present site of Burlington, 26 October, 1835. He was admitted to the bar at the age of eighteen, and began practice in Wayne County, where he was elected to the legislature in 1856. In 1858 he moved to Kansas. In June, 1861, he joined the volunteer army as captain, and subsequently he raised the 13th Kansas Infantry and commanded it until the end of the war, receiving the brevet of brigadier general, and having command of a brigade during the last two years of hostilities on the frontier, an afterward with the 7th Army Corps. He was a delegate from Kansas to the National Republican Convention of 1864. After the war he settled in Arkansas and was president of the constitutional convention of that state, and for four years a justice of the state supreme court. In 1871 he accepted the appointment of governor of Idaho territory, but resigned, returned to Arkansas, and was a candidate for U.S. Senator in opposition to S. W. Dorsey, of the same party, who defeated him in an open contest before the legislature. In January, 1870, he moved to Colorado, and resumed the practice of the law. When the state government was organized in 1876, he was elected a district judge, and was four years on the bench. He afterward engaged largely in mining operations. In 1882 he was elected to the state legislature, and served as chairman of the Committee of ways and means, until he was elected to the U. S. Senate, where he took his seat on 3 December, 1883. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 337.


BOWERS, THEODORE S., soldier, born in Pennsylvania, 10 October, 1832; killed at Garrison's Station, New York, 6 March, 1866. When very young he moved to Mount Carmel, Illinois, and there learned the printer's trade. When the Civil War began he was editor of the “Register,” a local democratic journal. After the defeat of the national forces in the first battle of Bull Run, he raised a company of volunteers for the 48th Illinois Infantry, declined its captaincy because of the taunts of his former political associates, and went to the front as a private. He was soon sent home on recruiting service, and on his return to his regiment was detailed as a clerical assistant at Brig.-General Grant's headquarters (25 January, 1862). In this capacity he went through the campaigns of Forts Henry and Donelson. He was again offered the captaincy of his old company, but declined on the ground that the first lieutenant deserved the place. He was, however, commissioned first lieutenant, 24 March, 1862, and on 26 April following was detached as aide-de-camp to General Grant, acted as Major Rawlins's assistant in the adjutant's office. On 1 November, 1862, he received the regular staff appointment of captain and aide-de-camp, and was left in charge of department headquarters while the army was absent on the Tallahatchie Expedition. The Confederates under Van Dorn seized the opportunity to make a raid to the rear of the federal advance, and captured the department headquarters at Holly Springs at early dawn of 20 December, 1862. Captain Bowers had but a few moments warning; but, acting with great presence of mind, he made a bonfire of all the department records, and when the raiders burst into his quarters everything of value to them was destroyed.  Bowers refused to give his parole, and succeeded in making his escape the same evening. The officer commanding the rear-guard was severely censured by General Grant, while Captain Bowers was highly com£ and was presented with a sword in acknowledgment of his services. He was appointed judge advocate for the Department of Tennessee, with rank of major, 19 February, 1863. After the fall of Vicksburg he was assistant adjutant-general in place of Colonel Rawlins, promoted. His services had become so valuable that General Grant procured his appointment as ' and quartermaster on the regular staff (29 July, 1864), and assistant adjutant general, with the rank of major, U.S. Army, 6 January, 1865. His final promotions as brevet lieutenant colonel and colonel, U.S. Army, are dated 13 March, 1865. He was with General Grant in the field until the surrender of the Confederate forces, and was retained on his personal staff after the close of the war. He was instantly killed while attempting to board a moving train on the Hudson River Railroad. His military career is remarkable since he rose by sheer force of character, having no family influence or special training, from a private of volunteers to one of the highest staff appointments within the gift of the commanding general. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 337.


BOWERS' MILL, MISSOURI, October 4, 1863. Colonel J. O. Shelby (Confederate), in his report of his raid through Missouri and Arkansas, says of his movements on this date: "Passed through the blackened and desolated town of Sarcoxie, * * * then to Oregon, or Bowers' mill, a notorious pest spot for the militia, which was sacked and then swept from the face of the earth." This is the only mention of the affair in the official records of the war. Bowling Green, Kentucky, February 1, 1862. One Company of the 2nd Indiana Cavalry.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 154.


BOWLES, SAMUEL, journalist, born in Springfield, Massachusetts, 9 February, 1826; died there, 16 January, 1878. His education was of the usual public-school character, and, after some time spent at the high school, was finished at the private institution of George Eaton, in Springfield At the age of seventeen years he began his work in the printing-office of the Springfield “Republican,” a weekly paper, which his father had established in 1824,  of which he was the proprietor. For a year his work consisted in the miscellaneous duties of office-boy, and included everything except the writing of leading editorials. In 1844 he persuaded his father to publish the paper daily, and on 27 March of that year the first daily issue appeared. The principal duties of the management of the new journal fell on young Bowles, but early as the winter of 1844–5 his health gave out, and he was obliged to spend some time in the south. A series of fifteen letters, descriptive of southern experiences, contributed to the paper at this time, were widely read. In December, 1845, the “Republican” became a morning paper, and with the change followed the severe night-work for the editors. The father meanwhile devoted more attention to the counting-room, and the son occupied himself more exclusively with the editorial duties, in which he was ably assisted by Dr. J. G. Holland, who continued with the paper as editor until 1857, and as a contributor until 1864. By 1850 the “Republican” had acquired the largest circulation of any daily paper in New England, outside of Boston, and as fast as the money came in it was expended in increasing the plant. In 1851 the father died, and the entire management devolved on the young Bowles, who was then twenty-five years old. During the years that followed the time was : with incessant work and hard struggles. The paper was steadily growing in reputation and circulation, and its editor becoming known as an industrious, bold, and fearless journalist. He was frequently in opposition to public sentiment. During 1856 he supported Frémont for the presidency, and early in '' he accepted the editorship of the Boston “Traveller,” with which he continued for but a few months. In the autumn of 1857, after a brief rest, he returned to Springfield, and, buying Dr. Holland's interest, resumed editorial control of the “Republican.” From 1857 till 1865 the influence of Mr. Bowles made itself felt, not only during the warm political discussions of Buchanan's administration, but also during the Civil War itself, when his journal had acquired a national reputation. In 1865 he made a journey to the Pacific coast with a large company, and in 1868 travelled as far as Colorado. In 1869 he again crossed the continent. He visited Europe in 1862, and again in 1870, 1871, and 1874; indeed, frequent trips were a necessity to him on account ill heal his constitution having long since been impaired by over-work. In 1872 the “Republican” supported Mr. Greeley in his campaign for the president and it has since continued independent in politics. Mr. Bowles's letters, sent to the paper during his western trips, were collected and published under the titles of “Across the Continent” (Springfield, 1865) and “The Switzerland of America” (1869). These were afterward condensed and sold by subscription as “Our New West” (Hartford, !869). “The Pacific Railroad Open, How to Go, What to See,” was a small collection of ' that originally appeared in the “Atlantic Monthly” (Boston, 1869). See “The Life and Times of Samuel Bowles,” by George S. Merriam (New York, 1885).  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, p. 228.


BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY, February 15, 1862. Occupied by troops of Brigadier-General Don Carlos C. Buell's army. During the night of the 14th the advance guard, consisting of Colonel Turchin's brigade, under cover of artillery, effected a passage of the river by means of a large flatboat taken from a flour-mill some 4 miles below the town. At 5 o'clock on the morning of the 15th the troops marched into the town to find that the Confederates had decamped, leaving a large supply of clothing, provisions, harness, saddles, etc., to fall into Union hands. Before evacuating they set fire to the railroad buildings and several public edifices. No casualties occurred on either side and the capture of Bowling Green was a bloodless victory.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 154.


BOWLING GREEN ROAD, KENTUCKY, September 17, 1862. Bowling Green Road, Virginia, May 11, 1862. Harris' Light Cavalry. An advancing body of Confederates were checked and finally repulsed by a detachment of the Harris light cavalry. Major Duffle succeeded in cutting off and capturing a lieutenant and 10 men. No other casualties reported.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 154.


BOWMAN, ALEXANDER HAMILTON, soldier, born in Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, 15 May, 1803; died there, 11 November, 1865. He was a son of Captain Samuel Bowman, of the Massachusetts line, who served with distinction in the Revolutionary War. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1825, standing third in his class, was promoted to second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers, and became assistant professor of geography, history, and ethics. In 1826 he was appointed assistant engineer in the construction of the defences and in the improvement of harbors and rivers on the gulf of Mexico. He was ordered, in 1834, to superintend the construction of a military road from Memphis, Tennessee, into Arkansas, and further charged with improving the navigation of Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers until 1838. He was promoted first lieutenant, 21 January, 1835, and later was assigned to the charge of the fortifications for the defences of Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, where he remained until 1853. Meanwhile he had been made captain, 7 July, 1838. During 1851–2 he was at West Point as instructor of practical military engineering, and subsequently was chief engineer of the construction bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department, and was employed in locating and constructing custom-houses, post-offices, marine hospitals, and similar buildings. On 5 January, 1857, he was made major of engineers, and during the Civil War he was superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy, with the local rank of colonel, serving as such from 1 March, 1861, until 8 July, 1864. He then became a member of the naval and engineering commission for selecting sites for naval establishments on the western rivers, and from 20 June, 1865, until his death, was a member of the Board of Engineers to improve and preserve the New England sea-coast defences. His regular promotion as a lieutenant-colonel in the Corps of Engineers was received 3 March, 1863.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, p. 339.


BOWMAN'S PLACE, WEST VIRGINIA, June 29, 1861.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 154.


BOX FORD, MISSISSIPPI, October 7, 1862. 22nd Ohio Infantry. A detachment of three companies, under the command of Captain George R. French, encountered the enemy's pickets at Box ford, over the Hatchie river, and drove them to Ruckersville. No losses reported on either side. Boyce's Bridge, Louisiana, May 14, 1863. Cavalry of Weitzel's Brigade, 75th New York and 4th Wisconsin Infantry, and Nims' Battery. General Weitzel, learning that a force of Confederates was at Boyce's bridge over Cotile bayou, constructing breastworks of cotton bales, sent two companies of cavalry to reconnoiter. This detachment engaged the enemy but finding him too strong fell back, being pursued for a short distance by the Confederates, when the cavalry turned and charged them, driving them back to their works. The Union loss was 1 man and several horses killed. That of the enemy was greater, as three dead bodies were found and buried by the Union troops. That was on the 13th. The next day Weitzel sent the infantry and artillery by the gunboat "Switzerland" to drive the Confederates from their position. As soon as the Federal forces appeared the enemy fled in three directions, closely pursued by cavalry, and took up a position behind Cane river.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 154.


BOYAU is a small trench, or a branch of a trench, leading to a magazine, or to any particular point. They are generally called boyaus of communication. (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, pp. 99-109).


BOYCE, JAMES PETIGRU, clergyman, born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1827. He was graduated at Brown in 1847, and studied theology at Princeton from 1849 till April, 1851. He was ordained to the ministry in December of the same wear and settled over the Baptist church at Columbia, South Carolina In 1855, he became professor of theology in Furman University. He was elected a professor in the southern Baptist theological seminary at Greenville, South Carolina, in February, 1858, and entered upon the duties of that office on 1 October, 1859. The operations of the seminary having been practical suspended during the war, he entered the Confederate Army as a chaplain and served in that capacity for six months. He was elected to the legislature of South Carolina in 1862, and re-elected in 1864. In 1863 he devised a plan for extinguishing the Confederate debt, and was appointed a special commissioner to secure its adoption. After the war he gave his attention to the resuscitating and re-establishing the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky, and in 1874 secured pledges to the amount of $90,000 for the support of the seminary. He has for several successive years been chosen president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Dr. Boyce received the degree of S. T. D. from Columbian University, Washington, D.C., and that of LL.D. from Union University, Tennessee, in 1872. He has contributed liberally to the current literature, and through his sermons and addresses, many of them published in book-form, has attained an influential position at the south. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, p. 340.


BOYCE'S PLANTATION, LOUISIANA, May 6, 1864. Provisional Division, 17th Army Corps. Brigadier-General T. Kilby Smith, commanding a detachment of the 17th corps, in giving the battles and affairs in which his command was in part or as a whole engaged, states that on the 6th it was in the fight at Boyce's plantation. This is the only mention of the affair. Boyd's Neck, South Carolina, November 29, 1864. Marine Brigade. (See Honey Hill, November 30, 1864.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 154-155.


BOYD, LINN, statesman, born in Nashville, Tennessee, 28 November, 1800; died in Paducah, Kentucky, 16 December, 1859. While he was a boy his parents moved to Trig County, Kentucky, where he was brought up to work on the farm, and could only attend school in winter. At twenty-six years of age he had a farm of his own in Calloway County, and, notwithstanding his slender education, was elected to represent that county in the legislature for successive terms from 1827 till 1830. Returning to Trigg County, he was then sent to the legislature (1831–2). He was a Democrat in politics, and, after a defeat by a Whig candidate in 1833, was elected to Congress in 1835. He was defeated for the 25th Congress, but elected for the 26th, and from 1839 till 1855 regularly re-elected to the national House of Representatives. His native abilities soon made him prominent in the house, and he became chairman of the Committee on Territories, and on 31 December, 1851, was chosen Speaker, which office he held until 1855. He was lieutenant-governor of Kentucky for a year before with-drawing from political life, and when he finally retired it was with a high reputation for faithfulness in every public trust. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, pp. 340-341.


BOYD, SEMPRONIUS HAMILTON, born 1828, lawyer, soldier.  Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.  Colonel, 24th Missouri Volunteers.  (Appletons’, 1888, Vol. I, p. 341; Congressional Globe)

BOYD, Sempronius Hamilton, lawyer, born in Williamson County, Tennessee, 28 May, 1828. He received an academic education at Springfield, Missouri, after which he studied law. In 1855 he was admitted to the bar and practised in Springfield, where he became clerk, attorney, and twice mayor. During the Civil War he was colonel of the 24th Missouri Volunteers, a regiment which he raised, and which was known as the “Lyon Legion.” In 1863 he was elected as representative in Congress from Missouri. Afterward, resuming his profession, he was appointed judge of the 14th judicial circuit of Missouri. He was a delegate to the Baltimore Convention in 1864, and in 1868 elected to Congress, serving until 3 March, 1871. Since then he has spent a quiet life in Missouri, devoting his time partly to the practice of his profession and partly to stock-raising. The Springfield wagon factory and the first national bank of Springfield were founded by him. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I. pp. 341.


BOYD'S STATION, ALABAMA, March 10, 1865. 101st U. S. Colored Troops. About 4 p. m. Lieutenant Becker at Boyd's station heard firing in the direction of Woodville Station. A small detachment of Company E was sent out in charge of Sergt. Bell to learn the cause. He found 5 men from Woodville, surrounded in a cut by guerrillas, resisting capture. The colored troops charged the guerrillas and drove them back and then with the assistance of the 5 men kept up a skirmish until night, but as the enemy were mounted it was not easy to get in fair range. One guerrilla was seen to fall from his horse and one of the colored soldiers was captured.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 155.


BOYD'S STATION, ALABAMA, March 15-18, 1865. 101st U. S. Colored Troops. The garrison at Boyd's station, near Stevenson's gap, was in command of Lieutenant Frederick Becker, of the 101st colored infantry. The Confederate Colonel Mead, with about 300 cavalry, kept in the neighborhood and never lost an opportunity to annoy the garrison and prevent the men from working on the stockade and guarding the railroad. On the 15th the men were driven in; on the night of the 16th they surrounded the stockade but left after two hours' brisk fighting, and on the 18th they made another attack and captured 9 of the colored troops. Lieutenant-Colonel Wade then sent reinforcements to the garrison, thus giving Becker a force sufficiently strong to repel the attacks.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 155.


BOYDEN, SETH, inventor, born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 17 November, 1788; died in Middleville, New Jersey, 31 March, 1870. His boyhood was spent in aiding his father in farm work or in attending the com- mon school. Such leisure as he could obtain was devoted to the blacksmith's shop, and at the age of twenty-one years he engaged in manufacturing nails and cutting files with improved machines of his own construction. He then improved the ma- chine originally devised by his father for leather-slitting which he adapted to the splitting of sheep-skins and thin leather for bookbinders' use. About 1813, with his brother, he established a leather-splitting business in Newark, and in 1816 he still further improved his nail machine. He then experimented on the manufacture of patent leather, and in 1819 produced a superior article, which he manufactured and sold until 1831. Meanwhile he had experimented in the production of malleable iron castings, and, succeeding in that, he engaged in their manufacture from 1831 till 1835. During the latter year he became interested in the manufacture of steam-engines. Fitting up a shop for himself, he introduced the cast-iron prome or bed used in stationary steam-engines, and substituted the straight axle in place of the crank in locomotives. is most important invention was the cut-off in place of the throttle-valve, and he connected the same with the governor. In 1849 he closed out his business and sailed for California, but after two years, unsuccessful in gaining a fortune, he returned east, and began experimenting in agriculture. He succeeded in raising new varieties of strawberries of a size and quality hitherto unequalled. The principal invention of his later ears was a “hat-body doming machine,” which is now extensively used. Other inventions have been attributed to him, but they failed of commercial success. As with many inventors, the just compensation of his labors was secured by others, and his life was laborious to the end.—His brother, Uriah Atherton, inventor, was born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 17 February, 1804; died in Boston, 17 October, 1879. In early life he worked at a blacksmith's forge, and acquired considerable mechanical skill and a thorough knowledge of materials. Later he became an engineer, and was employed in the construction of a railroad from Boston to Nashua. He then turned his attention to hydraulic engineering, and was employed in Manchester, where he found time to make a comprehensive study of the theory of the turbine water-wheel. Mr. Boyden succeeded in improving the construction of turbines so that 95 per cent. of the total power of the water expended was utilized, thereby gaining fully 20 per cent. In 1850 he settled in Boston and devoted himself thenceforward to the study of physics and chemistry. He gave $1,000 to the Boyden Library of Foxborough, where he also established the Soldiers Memorial, Building. In 1874 he placed $1,000 with the Franklin Institute, to be awarded to any resident of North America who should determine by experiment whether all rays of light and other physical rays were or were not transmitted with the same velocity. The “Foxborough Official Centennial Record” (1878) contains a full account of his life and inventions.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, p. 341.


BOYDTON PLANK ROAD, VIRGINIA, October 27-28, 1864. (See Hatcher's Run, same date.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 155.

BOYKIN'S MILL, SOUTH CAROLINA, April 18, 1865. Provisional Division, Department of the South. The affair at Boykin's mill, or Swift creek, as it is sometimes called, was one of a number of skirmishes that occurred on an expedition from Georgetown to Camden. The provisional division, under the command of Brigadier-General E. E. Potter, reached Camden on the 17th, to learn that the locomotives and trains had been removed to Boykin's mill, on Swift creek, 8 miles below, and that the Confederates, reinforced by two brigades of cavalry, were there throwing up intrenchments. On the morning of the 18th the division advanced on the enemy's position. Upon arriving near the mill it was discovered that the enemy had cut the dam and flooded the road, torn up the bridges and were strongly intrenched on the opposite side of the creek. On both sides of the railroad at this point there were swamps. The 32nd U. S. colored troops was pushed forward into the swamp toward the creek but were compelled to retrace on account of the mud and water. An attempt was then made by the 107th Ohio to turn the enemy's right, but it had to be abandoned for the same reason. The attention was then turned to the other direction. The 54th Massachusetts found the remains of a bridge, which appeared to offer a crossing, so that the Confederates could be taken on the left, but while in the act of crossing the creek were fired on and lost several men. Further to the left the 102nd colored infantry, guided by one of their own race, effected a crossing, while the 25th Ohio, supported by the 1st brigade, was pushed forward to the center, ready to charge across the railroad bridge. As soon as the firing of the colored troops on the left was heard the charge was made across the railroad bridge and the enemy driven from his position, retreating toward the south. One locomotive and some flat-cars were then destroyed by the Union forces, together with a large quantity of cotton and the station buildings. The pursuit was continued next day. (See Denkins' Mill, April 19.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 155.


BOYNTON'S PRAIRIE, CALIFORNIA, May 6, 1864. 6th California Infantry. Corporal J. D. Barnes, while engaged in taking supplies to the camp at Boynton's prairie, was shot by the Indians and died a few hours later. Lieutenant John Oaks, with 22 men, was sent in pursuit. He destroyed an Indian ranch, composed of huts, but found nothing of the Indians themselves.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 156.


BOYLE, JEREMIAH TILFORD, 1818-1871, lawyer, anti-slavery advocate, Union Army Brigadier General.  Called for gradual emancipation of slaves as a delegate to the Kentucky State Constitutional Convention in 1849.  (Warner, Ezra, Generals in Blue, 1964; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 342; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 1, Pt. 2, p. 532)

BOYLE, Jeremiah Tilford, soldier, born 22 May, 1818; died in Louisville, Kentucky, 28 July, 1871. He was graduated at Princeton in 1838, and, after qualifying himself for the law, he was admitted to the bar and began practice in Kentucky. When the slave-states seceded from the union, and Kentucky was in doubt which side to join, he declared in favor of the union, and was appointed a brigadier-general of U. S. volunteers, 9 November, 1861. After distinguished and patriotic services in organizing for defence against the Confederate invasion that was threatened from the south, he was appointed military governor of Kentucky, and retained that office from 1862 till 1864, when he resigned his commission. From 1864 till 1866 he was president of the Louisville City Railway Company, and from 1866 till his death was president of the Evansville, Henderson, and Nashville Railroad Company. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888.  p. 342


BOYLE, JOHN ALEXANDER, soldier, born in Baltimore, Maryland, 13 May, 1816; died near Chattanooga, Tennessee, 29 October, 1863. He became a Methodist preacher in 1839, his station being in Philadelphia and vicinity, where he had received his education. After repeated and prolonged trials he was obliged to give up the ministry because of failing health. Removing to Elk County, Pennsylvania, he became a lawyer and afterward an editor. He volunteered in a Pennsylvania regiment at the beginning of the Civil War and soon rose to the rank of major, serving with zeal and honor in Virginia and Tennessee, and was killed in the battle of Wauhatchie. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 342.


BOYLE, JUNIUS J., naval officer, born in Maryland about 1802; died in Norfolk, Virginia, 11 August, 1870. He was appointed midshipman in the U.S. Navy from the District of Columbia in 1823, cruised in the sloop-of-war “Peacock” in the Pacific in 1827, and midshipman in 1829. He was commissioned lieutenant, 21 June, 1832. After nine years of sea duty on board the frigates “Delaware” and “Congress,” most of the time in the Mediterranean, he served from 1843 till 1855 on different store-ships and in the schooner “Bonito” of the Home Squadron. He was commissioned commodore, 16 July, 1862, and was in command of the naval asylum at Philadelphia in 1863–’5. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 342.


BOYNTON, CHARLES BRANDON, 1806-1883, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, lawyer, clergyman, anti-slavery activist.  Chaplain, U.S. House of Representatives, 39th and 49th Congress. (Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 342-343; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. I, Pt. 2, pp. 536-539)

BOYNTON, Charles Brandon, clergyman, born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 12 June, 1806; died in Cincinnati, Ohio, 27 April, 1883. He entered Williams in the class of 1827, but, owing to illness, was obliged to leave college during his senior year. He took up the study of law, and, after filling one or two local offices, was elected to the Massachusetts Legislature. While studying law he became interested in religion, qualified himself for the ministry, and was ordained pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Housatonic, Connecticut, in 1840. Thence, after a stay of three years, he moved successively to Lansingburg, Pittsfield, and in 1846 to Cincinnati, and remained there until 1877, with the exception of his terms of service as chaplain of the House of Representatives in the 39th and 40th Congresses. For a time he was pastor of the Congregational Church at Washington, D. C. He bore an important part in the anti-slavery controversy, which was fiercely waged in Cincinnati during the early years of his pastorate. His published books are “Journey through Kansas, with Sketch of Nebraska” (Cincinnati, 1855); “The Russian Empire” (1856); “The Four Great Powers—England, France, Russia, and America; their Policy, Resources, and Probable Future” (1866); “History of the Navy during the Rebellion” (New York, 1868). He received the degree of D. D. from Marietta College in recognition of his acquirements as a biblical scholar. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I. pp. 342-343.


BOYNTON, EDWARD CARLISLE, soldier, born in Vermont about 1825. He was graduated at West Point in 1846, assigned to the 2d U.S. Artillery as brevet second lieutenant, and ordered at once to join the army in Mexico. He was with General Taylor at the front of the invading force, and participated in the siege of Vera Cruz and the battles of Contreras and Churubusco, in which last engagement he was severely wounded. He was promoted second lieutenant 16 February, and first lieutenant 20 August, 1847, and was brevetted captain at the same time. He was an instructor at West Point in 1848–'55. In 1855–6, he accompanied the expedition against the remnant of the Seminole Indians in Florida. He resigned 16 February, 1856, and accepted the professorship of chemistry in the University of Mississippi, which he held until dismissed in 1861 for “evincing a want of attachment to the government of the Confederate States.” He declined the colonelcy of a volunteer regiment, and was reappointed to the U.S. Army as captain in the 11th Infantry, 23 September, 1861. He was at once assigned to duty at the Military Academy, first as adjutant and afterward as quartermaster, remaining at that post throughout the war, and receiving at its close the brevet of major for faithful services. He was transferred to the 29th U.S. Infantry, 21 September, 1866. Major Boynton is the author of “History of West Point and its Military Importance during the Revolution, and the £ and Progress of the U.S. Military Academy” (New York, 1863); a “Guide to West Point and the U. S. Military Academy.” (1863); “Register of Cadets admitted to the Military Academy, from its Origin to June 30, 1870.” 1870); “Several Orders of George Washington, Commander-in-Chief, etc., issued at Newburg’” (Newburg, 1883); and of the '' and naval vocabulary in Webster's “Army and Navy Dictionary” (Springfield, 1886). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 343.


BOYNTON, HENRY VAN NESS, soldier, born in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 22 July, 1835, moved to Ohio when a young man, and was graduated at the Woodward High School, Cincinnati, in June, 1855. Thence he went to the Kentucky Military Institute, where he passed through a semi-military course of training that prepared him for subsequent service in the field, ''became a civil engineer. At the beginning of the Civil War he was commissioned major of the 35th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (27 July, 1861). He was promoted lieutenant-colonel, 19 July, 1863, commanded the regiment during the Tennessee Campaigns, and was brevetted brigadier for good conduct at the battles of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge. He is the author of the most notable of the criticisms called out by General William T. Sherman’s “Memoirs,” namely, “Sherman's Historical Raid; the Memoirs in the Light of the Record; a Review based upon Compilations from the Files of the War Office” (Cincinnati, 1875).  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, p. 343.